Darkening
by skca54
Summary: Dave's Dad is dead - murdered by Frank D'Amico's goons. Dave swears revenge on the D'Amico family and insists on teaming up with Hit Girl. Will the partnership workout? Will Dave avenge the death of his father? An alternative universe story based on the original Kick-Ass movie.
1. Darkening

**_Authors Note: _**_This story has been written in response to a challenge by another writer: 'adm-frb'. This will be my ninth (published) story._

**_Synopsis:_**_ This story is based on the original Kick-Ass movie and moves into an alternative universe from the point where Hit Girl is shot by Red Mist and then Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are kidnapped. After Hit Girl kills everybody at the warehouse, she witnesses the death of Big Daddy and rescues Kick-Ass. As they leave the warehouse, they stumble upon another body, this one not killed by Hit Girl. The body is that of Dave's father and his throat had been cut, possibly during Hit Girl's attack. Dave swears vengeance on Frank D'Amico and insists on helping Hit Girl assault the D'Amico penthouse. Hit Girl gratefully, and with some surprise, accepts Dave's offer. The attack on the D'Amico penthouse is carried out in line with the movie. Hit Girl and Kick-Ass return to the Safehouse. Mindy is a few months' shy of thirteen, while Dave is fifteen._

* * *

**_Safehouse A_**

Dave was different somehow.

We had just watched the sunrise over New York. It had been a long night and I now had a new friend – actually not so much a new friend, as an _only_ friend. We both seemed to have some things in common, some of which were not enviable, in any way. We had both lost our only remaining parents, the previous night. I had at least managed to speak to _my_ Daddy, before he had died – Dave? Well, he just found the corpse of his Dad with his throat cut.

Dave had even volunteered to come with me to assault the D'Amico penthouse; that had been a major surprise. I had needed his help and I had expected to have to bribe or blackmail him into helping me. Before we had left the very Safehouse in which I stood, the previous night, Dave had sworn vengeance on everything D'Amico. He was determined to avenge the death of his father and on our return, he had not said much since I had told him my true identity, only minutes before.

Now, I had some thinking to do. What would happen next? I had just finished reading the letter that my Daddy had left, in case anything should happen to him. It told me to contact his ex-partner, Marcus Williams, and to place myself in his care and that I should obey him implicitly.

..._...

I got up from my bed and walked out of my bedroom. I still wore my Hit Girl costume, minus the mask and wig. Dave sat on the floor, with his back against the wall, his mask in his hands.

"What are you going to do?" Dave asked as he looked up at me through sullen eyes.

I had expected sadness and it was there, in his eyes, but I also saw defiance.

"I don't know. I'm supposed to hand myself over to the man that raised me, till I was five," I replied. "There will be no more Hit Girl."

Dave stared at the mask in his hand for another minute.

"You can't give up being Hit Girl . . . I need your help."

"My reason for being . . . the reason why my Daddy created Hit Girl and Big Daddy . . . I was created to kill Frank D'Amico. He is now dead, thanks to you. My 'mission' is technically over."

"I'm sure your Daddy would want you to continue – there are more D'Amico's out there. I – I need you to train me – I need to be able to fight like you."

I smiled and then I laughed.

"You want to be 'like me'? In your fucking dreams Ass-Kick!" I responded, and then regretted it.

"I want to be as good as you... I want to join your team – you know, like Batman and Robin."

"Nobody wants to be Robin."

"What's wrong with Robin? Weren't you like Big Daddy's Robin?"

I laughed.

"Okay, Robin wishes he was me!"

"What I'm trying to say is that we should be partners. You and me."

"I'm in the NFL, Dave – you, well..."

"So train me. I want to walk the walk and you're the closest thing I know to a real superhero. You no longer have Big Daddy to watch your back, like at Rasul's apartment, and I need somebody to watch mine to."

I started to respond, but I had run out of excuses. Secretly I wanted to agree; I didn't want to give up on Hit Girl – not yet anyway. But Dave! Seriously! I knew I was good, really good, but was I _that _good!

"Let's get the fuck outta here. Marcus knows about this place and he'll know by now that Daddy's dead. Now that Safehouse B is history, I think we need to work our way down the alphabet," I suggested and I started pulling off my Hit Girl costume.

"I am going for a shower and then, I think, you should too, Dave."

A thought came to me.

"You can use some of my," I faltered for a second. "Daddy's clothes. In there."

I pointed to Daddy's room before I headed into the bathroom.

* * *

I watched as Mindy went into the bathroom and she closed the door.

I painfully clambered to my feet and walked towards the room that Mindy had indicated. I picked out some sweat pants and a top from Big Daddy's room, half-expecting Big Daddy to walk in and kill me on the spot. Just the thought of that man sent giant shudders through me. Big Daddy seemed the type of person that would come back and haunt anybody that got anywhere near his daughter – then again, his daughter was quite capable of looking after herself, thanks to him!

My life had now been turned well and truly to shit, Dad was gone and gone for good. I still had absolutely _no_ idea how he had ended up in that warehouse, dead. Nobody knew that I was Kick-Ass, except for Katie and Mindy. My mind was like mush and it refused to function correctly. I would have to think things through properly, once my mind started to work correctly.

I heard the bathroom door open and Mindy appeared. She was dressed in what seemed to be normal 'girl' clothes: a mixture of purple and pink - no surprise there! The pigtails were still there, though; she must have liked them. She looked quite cute – definitely not what I would normally expect a badass assassin to look like.

"Your turn, ass."

It was hard to tell when she was fuckin' with me and when she might actually hurt me!

* * *

_Updated: September, 2016_


	2. Thoughts

**_Safehouse C  
Saturday_**

"How many of these places do you have?"

"A few..."

I watched as Mindy punched an eight-digit code into a hidden keypad, beside a steel door that led from an alley that ran alongside and behind a decrepit looking warehouse. The door clicked open and I followed Mindy inside. We climbed two flights of stairs, before we stopped at another steel door. Eight digits later and the door clicked open. The room inside was dark; what was Mindy leading me into?

Mindy didn't seem to be worried; she went straight in and I heard some switches being thrown and a large room was suddenly visible, as the lights came on.

"Get the fuck in here, ass!"

I moved into the room and let the door click shut behind me.

..._...

In front of me was a large room.

The main central feature was a large exercise mat, with a support pillar on each corner. To my left was a combination kitchen/diner, with a couch and a pair of desks with twin computers, as per Safehouse A.

"That door on your right, it leads to the bathroom and two bedrooms; mine is the pink one!" Mindy said, with a smirk.

The wall in front of me was just like the walls at the other Safehouse. There was every conceivable weapon in evidence. We had brought very little with us from the other Safehouse; just clothes for Mindy and a small selection of important weapons, including Mindy's bō-staff that I had seen her use to dispatch Rasul and his minions, only a few short months ago.

What was I doing? Was this right, teaming up with a young girl, despite her being a bad-ass assassin? I was jerked from my thoughts, as sunlight burst into the room. Mindy had triggered the steel shutters that had covered each of the three large windows at the end of the room.

"So, what next?" I asked.

"We need to get ourselves sorted out, move what we need from Safehouse A and ensure that we are both safe, then we can start with the rest of our lives," Mindy said, with a grimace.

"Are you okay?"

"My back is a little sore."

"You want me to check it for you?" I asked, tentatively.

"Might be a good idea!" Mindy said and she took off her jacket and pulled up the back of her t-shirt.

"Christ, Mindy!" I blurted out.

"What?"

"Your back is purple and bruised to hell!"

"Well I was blasted out of a window and dropped a dozen feet!"

"What other injuries do you have?" I asked with concern.

"Nothing major, I've had worse, believe it or not. I have bruises on my chest from the three bullets, but you're not seeing them!" Mindy said, with an almost embarrassed look and she went slightly pink. "What about you?"

"I actually have had worse!" I grimaced. "Bruises in places that I care not to mention and that I am definitely not showing _you_!"

..._...

We spent the rest of the day getting the Safehouse habitable; it was very dusty, having not been used in a while. We also did some shopping to get some fresh food in. We kept to the seedier portions of Brooklyn, to keep ourselves away from any potential trouble. If anybody asked, Mindy was my little sister. We hadn't decided on what to do with our identities yet, Mindy said that she could 'erase' Dave Lizewski – whatever that meant!

It was expected that somebody would find the dead bodies, at the warehouse, along with my Dad's body too. That would result in Police visiting my house at some stage. For now, we needed anonymity and at least I didn't know anybody in Brooklyn! I worried about what Marty and Todd might be thinking. They would probably be looking for me, to discuss the events of last night. But I dare not contact them, not yet.

My thoughts also drifted to Katie. She, at least, knew about Kick-Ass and me. What would she be thinking!

* * *

**_That evening_**

It was a strange feeling.

This time yesterday, I was being beaten to an inch of my life and I never knew that my Dad was only feet away from me, and probably still alive! I had never felt so low, as I did at that point. Every time that Dad came to my mind, I started to feel rage inside me and the lust for vengeance. I had started to think about how I had got here and how my Dad could have got to the warehouse. A lot of shit was passing through my mind in an every lasting circle of shit.

I was dreading tonight – my first night with nobody, except of course for Mindy.

I sat on the couch, watching Mindy pounding away on the computer and started to wonder what was going through her mind, right now.

* * *

It was a strange feeling.

This time yesterday, my Daddy was being beaten to death and I was battling to save his life and the life of Kick-Ass, which at the time had been a very secondary objective!

I was dreading tonight – my first night with nobody, except of course for Dave. I was determined not to show any weakness in front of Dave.

I may only be twelve, but I was still the boss!

* * *

**_Brooklyn_**

Life sucked, big time!

I always got left in the damn car every time my Mom went to visit somebody. Yeah, she's a Doc and has to treat people and they need their privacy, but leaving me in the car all the time!

Mom says it's just a phase that I am going through and it'll pass in a few years. Great, I can't wait!

Hello! What's going on over there? I had noticed some activity over by a large red bricked warehouse type place. It was past nine in the evening and you don't normally expect to see two masked people lugging equipment up an alley. Mom would be busy for a while, so I decided to investigate.

I slipped out of the car and moved closer, being careful to keep to the shadows and out of sight of these two strange looking people. I got to within about eight feet of them, they were arguing.

"I forgot the damn code!" The taller one, dressed in green was saying.

"For fuck's sake, ass!" The much shorter one, in a purple outfit, retorted angrily. "Two – four – four – three – two – three – three – nine!"

The taller of the two punched in the numbers to a concealed keypad, a door clicked open and the two of them vanished.

That was weird! Who were those two?

* * *

**_That night_**

I had fallen asleep on the couch, but was awoken by a movement beside me.

"Would you give me a hug? My Daddy just died!"

It was Mindy and tears were streaming down her face. This was definitely unexpected, but it occurred to be that she had nobody else - just like me!

We only had each other.


	3. The First Day

**_The following morning  
Safehouse C  
Sunday_**

"Mindy?" I asked, shaking her awake.

Mindy's eyes came open quite suddenly and she stared up at me, then jumped up from where she had been cuddled up next to me.

"What was I doing there?" She asked in horror.

"You came through last night and said that you needed a hug," I explained.

"I did!" Mindy looked horrified.

"Mindy, it's not a sign of weakness to feel emotions."

"I – I need to pee!"

Mindy rushed off towards the bathroom and I thought she looked rather embarrassed!

* * *

What the fuck did I do last night?

I could not believe that I woke up cuddling into Dave! How embarrassing!

But then I remembered the loneliness that crept up on me last night and then when it swept over me and I burst into tears; I felt ashamed and I missed my Daddy.

I remembered needing somebody, I couldn't bear to be alone and the only person that I had, had been Dave.

So much for not showing weakness in front of Dave; I was appalled with myself!

* * *

Mindy reappeared from the bathroom, still in her pyjamas.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yes – and last night never happened!"

"Mindy..."

"It – never – happened!" Mindy stated, then smiled. "But thanks!"

"Moving on then..." I said dryly.

* * *

We left the Safehouse after breakfast and went out for what Mindy called a brisk stroll!

This actually turned out to be almost a run, but as my legs were longer than Mindy's, I managed to keep up, despite the pain in my muscles.

"You do remember that I was almost beaten to within an inch of my life, just over a day ago?" I wheezed.

"You said you'd had worse!" Mindy responded, not easing up on the pace.

"Well, you've probably seen the online video of me?"

Mindy nodded and slowed up a bit.

"That was Kick-Ass two point zero!"

"So what happened to the first Kick-Ass, then?" Mindy asked.

"Well, I, err, tried to take on these two guys that were trying to break into a car, but it kinda went to shit and I was stabbed in the stomach," I explained. Mindy stopped and turned to me, her eyes wide in surprise. "I tried to get away, but then I was hit by a car..."

Mindy just stared at me and then she burst out laughing and fell to the ground!

..._...

"Yes, it was so fucking funny!" I said sarcastically.

"I'm – sorry – it's just – so funny!" Mindy said, in between fits of laughter.

"I'm glad I've cheered you up, bitch!"

"Come on, it is kinda funny!"

"If you stop laughing for a minute, I'll tell you the rest."

Mindy forced herself to stop laughing, which seemed to be quite an effort for her. Finally she stared up at me, sitting on the ground, but still smiling.

"Well, you see – I err, had to ask the ambulance guy to promise not to say anything and to dispose of the costume, so I was only in my shorts, when I got to the hospital. Well, this got people talking and they thought that I had been... You know... Raped!"

I could tell that Mindy was trying, desperately, not to laugh!

"After I was fixed up, I spent the last few months with people thinking that I was - well... Gay!"

This was too much for Mindy and she literally fell over laughing and tears were pouring down her face. After a couple of minutes the laughter seemed contagious and I started to laugh too! I supposed that it was kinda funny and _I_ would have laughed if it had happened to somebody else!

* * *

"Look, I'm really sorry... I couldn't help it!" Mindy said, as we sat eating a burger each.

"I'll forgive you... Just this once, but you've got to tell me something funny about Mindy Macready!"

Mindy screwed up her eyes in thought and then looked a little uneasy.

"Well?"

"I was eight and I ignored Daddy's advice and I – well - I got shot in the ass!"

I couldn't reply, as I almost choked on a chunk of burger, in my throat. Once it was gone, though, I burst out laughing and Mindy went pink.

"I didn't think it funny; it hurt like hell and was a real 'pain in the ass' when it came to using the bathroom! Daddy laughed himself stupid and only stopped when I punched him. I was livid, but he told me to get a grip and enjoy the funny side! I've still got the scar – and before you ask, I'm not showing it to you!" Mindy said, going even pinker with embarrassment.

I was still laughing, so couldn't respond.

"Okay, Hit Girl isn't perfect, plus you saw me fuck up at Rasul's and almost get stabbed!"

"Yeah! I did; which is why we need each other - you can protect me and I can stop you getting shot in the ass!" I said and started laughing again.

Mindy just scowled at me.

* * *

**_New York City_**

I'd just found out who those two strange people were, from last night.

I thought they had looked familiar. I had watched that video that was doing the rounds.

In Brooklyn, last night, it had never occurred to me that I was watching the real Kick-Ass and the '_shows over motherfuckers_' girl!

I knew where they hung out!

I knew the code!

* * *

**_Brooklyn_**

I left the cab a block away from the red brick building and approached on foot.

Did I dare go through with this?

I ran over to the building and stopped beside the door, where I had seen Kick-Ass and that other vigilante, last night. I found the keypad and punched in the code that I'd overheard and the door clicked open.

I paused for a second and then entered the building.

* * *

I was too late.

I had entered the 'safehouse' and it was obvious that Mindy had run. I could see evidence of a hurried departure; there were drawers hanging open and empty, which was a good sign that she was gone!

I had seen Damon brutally beaten, the other night, but was overjoyed that Mindy was alive. I had assumed that the young girl that had appeared at the end of the video had been Mindy, as Hit Girl.

I missed her greatly and I would have loved the chance to see her again, but at least she was alive, somewhere – maybe with that green guy, Kick-Ass.

Hopefully they could protect each other.

I would never give up searching for her, never.

* * *

I climbed the stairs, slowly.

Any second now, I expected to be discovered. I was scared, very scared.

Come on Chloe, you can do it!

The first floor had been empty; just a large open space. The second floor was the same, but the third floor had a long corridor that ended at a window, however, there was a steel door a few feet from the stairs. Beside the door was another concealed keypad.

I took a deep breath and punched in the same code, then after what seemed like an hour, the door clicked open.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

"That was actually an enjoyable day!" I said, truthfully.

"You know, I think I envy you..." Mindy said.

"Why would you envy _me_?" I asked, incredulously. Hit Girl envying shit for brains Kick-Ass!

"Your pain threshold. I'm in considerable pain, after today – especially after all that laughing! You, though, seem fine and you've had no fucking training, _at all_!"

"Useful, huh!" I replied, as we stopped outside the door on the third floor.

Mindy punched in the code and I pulled open the door. We were still talking as we entered, but then Mindy froze and I followed her gaze.


	4. Intruder

**_Safehouse C_**

She looked like the proverbial rabbit in the car headlights!

It was a girl, a young girl of about twelve and a little taller than Mindy. She was obviously scared and knew that she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar!

Mindy had only frozen for a few seconds, but then she flew forwards and I saw a glint of metal in her right hand, as she flipped open a Balisong and headed towards the girl. I had to stop her – killing grown men who killed for a living, was one thing, but a young girl…

"Stop!" I yelled and ran after Mindy.

By the time I caught up Mindy had the girl pinned to the mat and there was a Balisong to her throat. The girl had tears on her cheeks and looked petrified; she was shaking. I could also see her eyes flicking from me to Mindy and back again, rapidly. She looked confused.

"What are you doing here?" Mindy hissed.

"I – I – I saw you two, last night and I heard you read out the code to him. I – I was stupid…"

"Oh, yes, very stupid! So stupid that you're gonna die for it!"

"No – please!" The girl begged.

* * *

I suddenly felt myself being grabbed around the waist and I was lifted off of the girl!

I twisted around and glared at Dave.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I demanded.

"You're not gonna kill her." It was a statement, not a request or a question.

"You can put me down now, before I break your fucking arms!" I growled.

Sensibly, Dave put me down. I glared at the girl, cowering on the floor in front of me. She looked to be about my age, but taller. What should I do with her? I should kill her and dispose of her body, but Dave has gone squeamish on me! Blast men apart with Gatling guns, blast a man out of the window with a fucking bazooka, no problem! Kill a girl – no chance!

The girl has seen our faces; she knows who we are and she knows where our Safehouse is! If that dozy asshole hadn't forgotten the damn code, last night, then none of this would be happening! On the other side of the coin, I should have been keeping a better eye open; after all, I was the professional here, not fucking Ass-Kick! He can't be blamed for anything; I'm supposed to be training him, because I'm the famous Hit Girl!

"Get up!" I growled to the girl.

* * *

The girl stood up, shakily and still looked petrified.

I was trying to look mean, but failing miserably!

"You obviously know who we are, but who are you?" Mindy asked.

"I – My name – Chloe Bennett."

"Hello Chloe Bennett!" Mindy responded.

The girl was still looking scared as Mindy still looked like an alligator examining its prey. Finally, Mindy flipped the Balisong closed and Chloe breathed an audible sigh of relief and in fact, I did too!

Mindy scowled at us both.

"What are we gonna do with you?" Mindy asked, with an ominous smile.

"Let me go!" Chloe said, hopefully, with a forced smile.

"Fuck!" Mindy shouted, making Chloe jump.

I laughed, which just made Mindy glare at me, so I stopped, quickly.

"You live, for now. One word, just one syllable, about us – you die!" Mindy said, flipping open the Balisong for extra emphasis.

"Thank you, err, what do I call you?" Chloe asked.

"I'm Hit Girl and you probably know that _he_ is Kick-Ass!"

"Wow! Nobody knows your name – you're just '_shows over motherfuckers_' girl!" Chloe said.

I grinned at Mindy, as she smirked.

"You can trust me, I won't tell anybody, I promise!" Chloe added. "Can I come over to see you, sometimes?"

Mindy thought for a moment and laughed.

"Yeah, just don't let yourself in, in future. There's some dangerous shit in here!" Mindy said. "Anyway, the code will be changed!"

* * *

**_Atomic Comics_**

"I'm worried about Dave!"

"We all are, Marty. He's not at home and his Dad's never in. Dave doesn't have a phone right now, as his got pinched!" Todd replied.

"I can't get hold of Katie, either. There's no reply at her house; she must have gone away with her folks!" Erika said.

"Maybe Dave and Katie went off together!" I said, with a smirk.

"One track mind, you!" Erica said angrily.

"I can't believe that Dave missed all that shit the other night! He'd have loved it, especially that girl, at the end!" I said.

"Must have had something more pressing to do. Maybe he was forced into doing something else," Todd suggested.

"I need a drink!" I said and got up.

* * *

I couldn't believe that had I got out of there alive!

Damn, I almost pissed myself, several times! That Hit Girl is seriously scary, despite being shorter than me! I needed to calm down, before I went home, so I decided to head into Atomic Comics and read for an hour.

I went in and almost bumped into a geek with glasses.

"Sorry!" I said, as he headed for the counter.

"No problem!" He replied, but otherwise ignored me.

That was my life; everybody ignored me. I had only been twelve for about a month and I had nothing with which to attract boys, but Mom assured me that I would grow some breasts eventually!

I was still suffering a bit from my exposure to Kick-Ass; I was a big fan and had read a lot of the comics. Maybe I could get his autograph!

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

We had both showered and cleaned ourselves up, after the morning's exercise. Mindy had decided to drop the pig tails and just let her blonde hair hang naturally.

"Well that could have gone worse!" Mindy said from the couch.

"Yeah!"

"We need to up our game here; we almost crashed out less than two days into it!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's get outta here!" Mindy suggested.

"I want to go see somebody!"

* * *

"You remembered to change the code?"

"Yes, ass!" Mindy replied. "Who are we gonna see, anyway?"

"My girlfriend, Katie."

"What?" Mindy replied, dragging me to a stop. "You're supposed to be avoiding people you know!"

"Only two people on this earth know that Dave Lizewski and Kick-Ass are the same person and I'm looking at one right now!"

"Oh! Katie would be the other one?"

"Smart girl!"

Mindy smiled smugly.

"I suppose somebody could have got to her and forced her to tell all she knew," I said.

"It would kinda explain what we found, at the warehouse!" Mindy admitted.

* * *

It had been a rather harrowing sight – even for me!

I had just killed a dozen men or so, but even I was shocked when we had come across a body that was lying on a wooden pallet, with a pool of fairly fresh blood spreading across the floor beneath the pallet.

At the time I knew that it wasn't _my_ body. I remember every kill I make and that body had not been one of mine. The throat had been slit from ear to ear, just about. The man had struggled too, evidenced by blood on his hands, as he fought in vain to stop the blood gushing from his body.

Then Kick-Ass had suddenly exclaimed: "Dad!"

I had had no choice but to hurry him out of there. It would not have done him any good to stand over the dead body of his father – he was dead, period.

* * *

When we got to Katie's house, it was getting dark.

Strangely the house had no lights on, none at all. All the neighbouring houses had at least one light on, which made the difference stand out, at least in my trained mind. I reached behind me, into the small of my back and pulled out a .38 Glock 28 sub-compact pistol. We walked around to the side door. Dave peered into the kitchen window and I saw him jump back.

"Oh God! They're all dead!"


	5. Training

**_Katie's House_**

"Oh God! They're all dead!"

I took one look at Dave and reached for my lock picks, holstering my pistol. Once I had opened the door I turned back to Dave.

"Don't touch anything!" I warned, glad that we were both wearing gloves.

In the kitchen was a body, a gunshot to the head and lots of blood on the floor, at least a day old. We moved through, into the dining room and then into the living room, where there were two more bodies; head-shots and blood, just like the body in the kitchen.

Dave ran upstairs and went through the bedrooms, then he appeared downstairs, a strange look on his face. It was a combination of joy and dread!

"Katie is not here!"

"We need to leave!" I said, as forcefully as possible.

* * *

Once we were a block or two away, I pulled out my cell and dialled a certain number.

"Sergeant Williams!"

"Bodies..." I growled and gave him the address.

Marcus repeated the address back and then paused, before speaking again.

"Mindy?"

I almost dropped the damn cell, in shock!

"You have your information, Sergeant, I suggest you act on it!" I growled, once I'd regained my composure and then dropped the connection.

* * *

I smiled to myself, as I called in the tip.

She was still alive!

Stay alive, stay safe, Mindy, please!

* * *

**_One week later  
Saturday  
Safehouse C_**

Most of our bruises had healed.

So now the training could start.

I had expected it just to be Dave, but Chloe had appeared twice, since last weekend and now she was here again! I had to admit that I enjoyed Chloe's company, it was good to have a girl to talk to, especially a girl that was my age, well almost. Chloe was one month past her twelfth birthday, whereas I was two months short of my thirteenth. The age gap was close enough that I could ask her questions about what Dave called: 'girl stuff'!

I had asked Daddy about 'girl stuff' before and he usually quickly changed the subject. I had even asked him when I would start to become a woman; get breasts and stuff. Yeah, at that point it had all still been 'and stuff'! Daddy had got rather embarrassed and the next day he had dropped a couple of books onto my bed that had something to do with girls and puberty! I had to admit that I found the books more than a little distressing and I wished that I had somebody that I could talk to about what was happening, or about to happen to me. Now I did!

Apparently Chloe's Mom was a doctor, so Chloe knew all about everything, in detail, which was both disturbing and useful! I had to admit that after talking with Chloe I was dreading puberty! For now though, while I started training Dave, I sat Chloe down and handed her an unloaded Glock 17 pistol, for her to dismantle. I had considered a _loaded_ pistol, but that might have left rather a mess! Should keep her out of trouble for an hour or two!

..._...

Dave actually looked apprehensive!

He was wearing an old t-shirt and shorts. I was wearing a sports top and shorts. We were both bare foot.

I faced off with Dave, on the mat.

"Hit me!"

"You're a twelve year-old girl..."

A slap rang out across the Safehouse and Chloe span around from the table.

"What the..." Dave tried.

Another slap rang out and Chloe laughed.

"Act like a bitch, get slapped like a bitch!" I goaded.

"You _hit_ hard, you know!" Dave said and I smiled smugly, but then he smirked. "But you slap like a little girl!"

I heard Chloe take a sharp intake of breath.

"You're gonna pay for that, Dave – in blood and sweat!"

"Bring it on, bitch!"

* * *

**_Twenty, very long, minutes later_**

Okay more thinking, less bravado!

Oh the pain, the pain!

Mindy stared down at me with an evil smirk on her face.

"You ready for round two, bitch?" She asked.

"You are _so_ fucking evil!"

"You don't know the half of it!"

* * *

"Okay! How have you done with the Glock?"

"I've managed to put it together again!" Chloe said, dubiously.

I picked up the pistol and then looked at the left over pieces! These included a spacer sleeve and the firing pin spring!

"What about those pieces?" I asked.

"The pistol went back together okay!"

I proceeded to load the pistol.

"So, let's just say that you've left out some important safety components and someone should accidentally insert a loaded magazine and then happen to chamber a round and then aim the pistol at your forehead!"

Chloe's eyes went wide as I did exactly that! I pulled the trigger and nothing happened...

"You know Mindy, you would make a great cure for constipation!" Chloe announced, heading for the bathroom.

When Chloe returned, I told her to put the pistol right!

* * *

I fell to the mat, as Mindy delivered a second roundhouse kick.

"This, is amusing to you, isn't it?" I groaned from the mat.

"Just a _little_!" Mindy said, with a broad smile and then she laughed.

"I can't believe that I'm letting myself get beaten up by a fucking twelve year-old girl!" I moaned.

"Can't hack it, Kick-Ass?"

"If you can, I can! Bring it on purple menace!"

* * *

Chloe had finally reassembled the pistol correctly, so I sent her home.

This meant that Dave and I could settle down for the evening and get something to eat. This had been a problem for the past couple of days, as usually Daddy had cooked and I had absolutely no idea what to do; yes, I was spoilt! I could manage the microwave and make toast on a good day, but that was my limit! Dave, though, seemed to have some talent in the kitchen, if not for being a vigilante!

This meant that we weren't gonna starve, at least not anytime soon. We sat down to a very nice pizza that tasted really good, especially after all that exercise, this afternoon.

Another question came to mind: Transport. We couldn't move around on foot all the time, neither could either of us drive, well I could – just not legally and Dave thinks it very funny, but a girl my age tends to stand out, when driving! The best option would probably be motorcycles, as the helmets added a nice layer of anonymity to the rider.

I would need to put my mind to work on that!


	6. Wreckage

**_Two days later  
The D'Amico Penthouse  
Monday_**

The place had looked like a squad or two, of US Marines and assaulted the place!

I had never seen so many bodies in one place before. Most of them had been shot, except for a few men at the exit to the private elevator; they had been killed with a knife, and another seemed to have blown his own brains out!

I honestly could not believe that we had not found any bodies from the people who had attacked the Penthouse. Attacked may not be the proper word, assaulted was far more accurate, hence the thought about the Marines!

The men downstairs had each received a single killing gunshot, except for one that seemed to have been shot in the mouth! The men seemed to have willingly let their killer into the reception area as there was no sign of a forced entry.

Unfortunately, there was evidence of who had attacked the Penthouse. None of the other Police Officers wanted to believe it, but I knew that it had been Hit Girl, or rather Mindy! In the elevator had been a small suitcase, with various weapons and what looked like a school girl uniform. I assumed that Mindy had used this outfit to con herself through the security downstairs and then she had coldly shot each and every man that she had come across!

There was no sign of Frank D'Amico, but there was a smashed window, a bazooka and reports of a loud explosion! The crime scene investigators had been here all week and now the place was almost clear, but the blood and bullet holes were still much in evidence. How the hell had that girl made it out alive? Did I owe Mindy's life to Kick-Ass? She did rescue him after-all!

All I could think of, right now, was that Damon had done his job well, maybe too well! But he had given her all the skills that she had needed to stay alive!

..._...

Now we came to the other crime scene - the one that had been filmed.

The film actually helped a lot with the forensic work! Lots of men, shot and stabbed. I vividly remembered watching the video playing live that night, seeing Damon beaten and then burnt! Somehow Mindy had pulled it off without getting herself killed. Yes, Damon had died, but with his dying breaths he had seemed to be guiding Mindy through her attack. I had no idea if Mindy actually got to talk to Damon before he had died, but she did rescue Kick-Ass. They then took down D'Amico!

There was a strange addition to that scene, another body that had had its throat slit. It was some way away from all the others and I was certain that Mindy had not done it. We had identified this body and then found that this man had a son, Dave Lizewski. However no trace could be found of the boy, who we understood was about fifteen. I seriously expected him to be found dead, somewhere else, in a few days. Their house had been empty and nothing had been touched. The boy was just gone!

We had spoken with his friends at some comic shop, they had all seemed completely shattered by the news.

..._...

I got a 'well done' from my Lieutenant for calling in another crime scene! It was a family, all dead – shot to death. It seemed that there was a daughter missing. Could it be related to the missing boy, with the dead father? There is still more investigation work underway and we should know something soon.

My thoughts were with Mindy as I headed home at the end of that shift.

* * *

**_Monday evening  
Safehouse C_**

The truly sadistic young girl that I am now living with has finally finished driving me into the ground, at least for now!

I am completely exhausted, but she barely breaks a sweat! Now she's gazing at an enormous motorcycle on one of the computers. I will admit that the motorcycle looked totally awesome, but I thought that Mindy was getting a little ahead of herself. It was funny enough seeing her drive an enormous Mustang, but a Ducati Panigale sport bike!

"You know, I don't think those come with stabilisers!" I commented.

Mindy froze and I saw her shoulders tense, but then subside. She took a deep breath before answering.

"That was actually quite funny! I'll let you off _this time_!" Mindy laughed.

"I know you're a little touchy about your, err, height, but I think you'll need to grow at last a foot first!"

"A girl can dream!" Mindy said then changed the webpage.

"That's a little more realistic!" I commented.

We were now looking at the Honda website.

* * *

**_Atomic Comics_**

We were all completely devastated.

A Cop had appeared at the comic shop and asked us questions about Dave. Apparently his Dad was dead and Dave was missing! To top it off we also found out that Katie's family was all dead and _she_ was missing, too!

I secretly hoped that it had all been some crap plot thought up by some warped writer, but that didn't pan out, so we just sat there staring at the table, completely numb with the shock.

At least I had my Marty to cuddle up with!

* * *

**_The following day  
Tuesday  
New York City_**

I was on solo patrol, this morning and parked up on East Houston Street.

"Hey, Officer!"

I looked across the car and rolled down the window on the passenger side. Standing beside the car was a short girl, with long blonde hair.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Got something for you!" The girl said and passed me a white envelope.

"Who is this from?" I asked.

The girl gave me a piercing stare before responding.

"Me!"

The girl ran off and vanished from sight. A strange feeling came over me. I looked down at the envelope. It had one word on it, written by hand: _Marcus_. My hands started to tremble as I ripped open the envelope. Inside was a single piece of folded paper. I unfolded it and saw that it was a hand written letter. I felt a pang of emotion as I recognised certain letters as being very similar to how Damon had written them.

_Dear Marcus_

_As you can see I am alive and well._

_I have a few bruises from the other night, but I am otherwise uninjured. Please do not attempt to find me; I still have a job to do in this city._

_I am not alone, I have somebody to guard my back; as somebody else once did. I wish that I had been able to get there a few minutes earlier, so I could have saved him, but fate is fate and I must now move on with my life._

_I will stay in touch, Marcus and let you know that I am safe and well. You may even see me from time to time, but please don't contact me, or use my name when I am working!_

_Look after yourself._

_Love Mindy_

My hands were really shaking now and I could feel tears in my eyes. I had just seen Mindy! I felt joy inside me, just knowing that I had actually seen her standing not three feet away from me. The sheet of paper had three small letters in the bottom right corner: _PTO_. I turned the letter over.

_Almost forgot: Maybe you can be my Commissioner Gordon!_

I had to smile at that!


	7. Equipment

**_Four days later  
Saturday  
Riker's Island_**

"It has been confirmed, Boss!"

"He is dead?"

"Err, 'obliterated' was the word used, Boss!"

"The guard force?"

"Wiped out, every last one of them..."

"My nephew?"

"He survived, but was beaten up..."

"Where is he?"

"With his mother at the beach house."

"Who?"

"We don't know – it must have been a large force, but we know it wasn't NYPD..."

"Find out! I want them dead, understand me – DEAD!"

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

Mindy seemed somewhat confused this morning.

"What am I doing?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"I – I don't know. I'm having second thoughts about this…"

"About what?"

"This…"

"You, sense, making not!"

"I…"

"…have lost the ability to make any form of sense?" I asked.

"No… Yes…"

"It's one way… Once it's gone it's gone…"

"What's gone…?" I was losing it faster than Mindy was!

"You on something? Been sniffing gunpowder?"

"You don't sniff gunpowder, you ignite it!"

"Should I just go back to bed and start the day again?"

"Maybe…"

This had gone far enough! I grabbed Mindy and shook her.

"What the fuck are you raving about, girl?" I demanded.

"I'm trying to decide whether to dye my hair," Mindy said.

"Are you fucking nuts? Strike that; I know the answer already: fucking yes!" I said. "I'm gonna go bang my head against a brick wall; you've stopped almost all my brain activity!"

* * *

"You back to normal now, or are you still a raving lunatic?" I asked an hour later.

"I'll go with the first choice."

"How fast does a hand-gun bullet travel?"

"Seven hundred miles per hour!"

"That's about as normal as you're gonna get!"

"Thanks, ass!"

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

"Okay green asshole, we need to get you geared up. That wetsuit just 'ain't gonna cut it in the real world. Plus you need something more than those batons," Mindy said, walking around me, while I stood there in my Kick-Ass suit, minus the mask.

I didn't say a word, but just let my eyes follow Mindy as she walked around the Safehouse examining items that hung on the walls and then she vanished into a store room for a few minutes before reappearing with several items in her arms.

Mindy dumped her armful of items onto the floor, then rummaged through them before pulling out what looked like a vest of some sort, similar to the one that she wore as Hit Girl.

"Put this on, underneath your suit and I would advise wearing something under the vest, like a t-shirt," Mindy said, finally.

I took the vest and unzipped my wetsuit, pulled on a t-shirt and then the vest, which had Velcro attachments at the side to hold it in place. I the zipped my suit back up; it was a little tight!

"Could be worse!" Mindy said dryly. "Now try this."

Mindy helped me strap on a shoulder holster. The pistol would hang horizontally under my left arm, so that I could draw it across my body, with my right hand. There were two pouches on the right for spare magazines. The rig was black and made from a strong webbing material.

"You'll get the pistol when I'm certain that you won't shoot me with it, accidentally or otherwise!"

* * *

**_The next day  
Sunday  
Safehouse C_**

"This is a Glock 17 Mod 4 semi-automatic pistol, chambered in nine by nineteen millimetre Parabellum, seventeen round capacity," Mindy rattled off.

"Cool!" I said, not fully understanding half of what she had just said.

Mindy then continued to explain how to check that the pistol was safe, by removing the magazine and ensuring that the chamber was cleared. She took me through some dry firing to ensure that I could operate the pistol safely. She was very patient with me and never snapped or yelled at me. Mindy was very serious when she was handling firearms and I listened to her instructions, as I knew that my life could rely on them in the future.

"You're doing well, Dave," Mindy said with a smile.

"Thanks. You're a good teacher, Mindy," I replied and Mindy actually blushed!

Next Mindy fitted a suppressor to the threaded barrel of the pistol and then handed me a loaded magazine.

"That magazine has eight rounds, not the full load, but still enough for a practice."

She led me downstairs and directed me to an area near the back wall that had obvious bullet holes visible.

"Now, insert the magazine, fully… Good! Next pull back the slide and release it, let it go, don't push it forward or you may cause a jam. Keep your right hand in place, or the slide might catch your hand as it moves forward… Good!"

"The weapon is now loaded and a round is chambered. You see the indicator beside the ejection port that I showed you earlier. It has been pushed out, so you can both see and feel that a round is chambered. Now bring the pistol up and aim it at a point on the wall. Gently squeeze the trigger, don't pull it..."

The weapon fired with a muted crack that echoed in the open space and the bullet impacted the wall sending chips of brick flying.

"Normally it would sound a lot louder, without the suppressor, but we don't want to scare the neighbours!" Mindy said with a smile. "Go ahead, empty the magazine. You have seven rounds left."

I aimed and squeezed the trigger seven more times, sending more brick chips around the room and the slide locked back on the empty magazine.

"Now clear the weapon!" Mindy instructed.

I ejected the magazine and confirmed that it was empty and then released and pulled back the slide, checking that the breech was empty. Finally I pulled the trigger with the pistol aimed at the floor. The pistol clicked and was now safe.

"Well done!"

We headed back upstairs.

"Now I'm gonna be firing the Glock 26, chambered the same as your Glock 17. I need the sub-compact pistol as my hands are small… Don't laugh!" Mindy said. "You have big hands so you can use the full size pistol."

"I would never laugh at you, at least not while I'm in the same room!"

Mindy scowled.

"You know, you look quite cute when you scowl!"

Mindy went slightly pink and almost dropped her pistol, but recovered quickly.

"Err – right - err. Both of our pistols are Glock pistols and are chambered the same. This means that we can share ammunition and magazines. Both pistols can technically take a thirty-three round magazine. This would be bulky in your pistol and a damn sight ridiculous in mine. You're not supposed to put something big into something small - but then size isn't everything…"

"Isn't it?" I interrupted with a smirk.

"… No… Stop interrupting me…" Mindy trailed off blushing furiously.


	8. Thirteen

**_Two weeks later  
Saturday night  
New York City_**

I was on Solo patrol again and it was very late.

I had just climbed into the car, after checking out a broken window, when the far door opened and a green form climbed in.

"We need to go somewhere private!" Kick-Ass advised.

"If you say so!" I replied and pulled into traffic, before heading for a quiet part of town, where I pulled over in a dark and deserted spot.

I turned off the ignition and looked at the vigilante sitting beside me.

"So, you are Kick-Ass! I suppose I have you to thank for keeping my girl alive."

"She's a very special girl," Kick-Ass said.

"I'm glad we're on the same page. Now, before we go any further: How is Mindy? Really, I mean..."

"She's, well, Mindy... She's tough as nails and swears like a trooper, but she's at the top of her game and fighting fit. She misses her father, but she's coping with it, in her own way!" Kick-Ass replied.

"Thank you for being candid with me; I miss Damon, too! You're Dave Lizewski, aren't you?" I asked, but before he could answer, I continued. "You don't have to answer that. I know that you are with Mindy to protect her and her you. I will take your secret to the grave, have no fear."

"Mindy trusts you, Sergeant Williams, and so do I. Now I have a few more questions, about Mindy..."

* * *

**_A little over three weeks later  
December 3rd  
Wednesday  
Safehouse C_**

I went into Mindy's bedroom, where she was still fast asleep and nudged her awake.

"Happy Birthday, Mindy!"

Mindy blinked a few times, getting used to the sunlight that streamed in through the skylight. Then she came fully awake.

"What! How the hell did you know about my goddamn birthday, asshole?"

"You know, I was kinda hoping that the teenaged Mindy might have mellowed, just a little!"

Mindy sat up in her bed and laughed.

"Okay! But, seriously, how did you find out about my birthday?" Mindy asked excitedly.

"Maybe this might give you a clue," I said and passed over a large envelope.

Mindy looked at me curiously, then proceeded to open the envelope and she pulled out a large birthday card. She opened it and then almost dropped it in shock. Her eyes were tearing up, too. She said nothing, but just passed the card over.

I opened it and read the hand-written message inside.

_To a very special young lady, on her birthday_

_I wish you every happiness for your birthday and your entry into your teenage years._

_Your Daddy would have been very proud of you, as am I._

_All my love_

_Marcus_

I smiled at Mindy and she smiled back.

"Thanks Dave!" Mindy said. "I should yell at you for meeting with Marcus without telling me, but..."

Mindy scrambled out of her bed and gave me a big hug.

"You mean a lot to Marcus and I know that he means a lot to you," I said.

"I hate to admit it, but you are absolutely right!"

"Come on, get dressed and we'll go get breakfast. My treat!"

* * *

Yes, I was a little mad at Dave going behind my back, but he did it for the right reasons and I loved that card from Marcus.

It was actually a great feeling, being a teenager. Now that we were both teenagers, it at least made things sound a little better! We have made huge progress in training and Dave is actually proving me right. I said that he had potential and he has it - tons of it!

I had decided that it was now time to put Dave to the test and to ensure that I hadn't lost any of my skills. I had actually never been fitter and neither had Dave.

* * *

**_That evening_**

It was very dark and very cold.

I liked the dark, but wasn't too crazy about the cold! This costume of mine was actually not the best for keeping out the cold and I wrapped my cape around me for warmth. Kick-Ass though, he had a thick wetsuit that actually proved very good for insulation; lucky cunt. I was actually tempted to ask for a cuddle – to share bodily warmth only!

It had been a while since I had been on the streets and I needed to build up my knowledge and intelligence of the area. Things would have changed in the two months or so, since I had last been out on the streets. Many criminals might have thought that Hit Girl was no more – were they gonna get a surprise!

I trusted Kick-Ass implicitly. He was now quite strong and his stamina was high. He was also very good with the Glock pistol and almost always hit what he aimed for. Not as good as me, but then nobody was!

..._...

Finally, some prey arrived!

I silently signalled Kick-Ass to move to the other side of the alley. I had my bō-staff up and ready and Kick-Ass drew his batons – we still hadn't replaced those!

There were three men talking together, around a barrel that had a fire burning in it and providing a little warmth to their 'office' that night. They were the usual low level, drug dealing scum that plagued New York at night. I despised them and I always had, but they proved useful as a form of income. They generally dealt in cash, which was useful for vigilantes like us; bullets and guns didn't come cheap, especially not the good stuff, plus I had one or two projects on the go that needed cash and I didn't want to raid my emergency stash too much.

We shielded our eyes from the glare of the fire. The three men did not and their night vision would have sucked, big time. But, as I had taught my new friend, we used the enemy's weaknesses against them and turned them to our advantage. Although Kick-Ass wasn't quite as ninja as me, he did pretty well at keeping quiet.

We approached from both sides of the alley. The burning barrel was between us and the men. There would be no way that the men would be aware of our approach. Or so I thought; neither Kick-Ass, nor I had seen the dog, snuggled up close to the barrel!

..._...

The dog barked and barked loudly.

One man moved away from the barrel and raised a pistol, Kick-Ass dived forward and brought a baton down, hard, on the man's wrist. The cracking sound seemed to indicate that the wrist had been broken and the man screamed. The dog leapt towards Kick-Ass, who punched it in the side of the head and the dog fell to the ground with a whimper, before struggling back to its feet.

I ran forward and drove a blade of my bō-staff deep into another man's chest, I started to remove the blade and spin to drive the opposing blade into the other man, when a gun was fired and I felt myself flying backwards with an enormous pain growing in my chest.

I came to, lying on the ground and could hear gunfire. Above me I could see green; Kick-Ass was protecting me and I could see his Glock raised and he was shooting at the remaining men. I could see the dog, dead, on the ground a few feet from me. Blood was oozing from a bullet hole in the dog's skull. Finally the gunfire died down and silence reigned.

"Are you okay?" Kick-Ass asked, looking down at me. I could see deep concern in his eyes.

"I'll live, I think!" I replied, breathing was difficult. I felt Kick-Ass unzipping my jacket and running his bare hand under my Kevlar vest, but on top of my t-shirt.

"No blood. Your vest stopped the bullet!" Kick-Ass sounded relieved. "Let's get outta here!"

Kick-Ass helped me to my feet and we moved away from the alley and headed back towards the Safehouse.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

"That could have gone better!" I commented, examining my Kevlar vest – it was ruined. It must have been a heavy round that had impacted me and from close range.

"It saved your life!" Dave said, indicating the vest.

"Twice! But now it's junk. You shot them didn't you?" I asked rhetorically.

"The dog and the first and third man. Your man died instantly. Your bō-staff is over there," Dave said.

I was glad that I hadn't lost my bō-staff – that would have been a disaster!

"I also got this," Dave said and threw over a small bag that contained a few thousand dollars, in cash.

"Well done! The whole point of that little exercise. Now I need to swallow my pride and let you check my chest..."

I pulled my t-shirt up and off, grimacing with the pain and fighting back the tears.

"Christ Mindy!" Dave said.

"Is it bad?"

"Very, very, purple! Does it hurt really badly?"

"Only when I laugh!"

"Well, don't laugh then!" Dave said.

I couldn't help it, I laughed and then groaned and lay down on the couch. I didn't care that I was topless in front of Dave; but Dave didn't seem to notice, he just laid a towel over my chest and started to untie my boots.


	9. New Year, New Problems

**_Five weeks later  
Monday  
Safehouse C_**

Here we were in a fresh new year.

The fifth day of January had dawned, cold and wet. But we were happy, within the nice warm Safehouse.

I think I had made Marcus' New Year; I had called him up at two minutes past midnight.

"Hi Marcus! Happy New Year!"

"Mindy! Happy New Year! It's so good to hear your voice! You two okay?"

"Yes, we are, I promise!"

"Stay safe!"

It was just a little thing, but it made me feel good and I think Marcus enjoyed it, too!

* * *

Dave was working on the bars, as he usually did each morning and pulling himself up – on his own! This was a big change from a couple of months ago when he barely lifted himself a couple of inches off of the ground! Now he could even do it one handed! There was a problem, though – I enjoyed watching him exercise!

Dave had gained some muscles, quite a few actually and I would regularly see his stomach and each time I caught sight of his now, well-formed, abs I got this weird feeling around my stomach and... Let's not go there! I was actually starting to get embarrassed when I saw him without his top on! How stupid could I get; he's Dave for fuck's sake and more than two years older than me and I didn't even have tits yet!

I spoke to Chloe about my feelings and she just laughed and said that it was perfectly normal. Apparently, there were certain boys and people on TV that resulted in _her_ getting 'very excited', as she had put it, but didn't explain any further! I had resorted to the internet to gather some much needed knowledge on what was going on inside of me, but I then discovered that certain words typed into a search engine, returned some very undesirable, although intriguing, results that made me blush – quite badly! Not to mention that I panicked if Dave came near me while I was on the computer - in case he saw anything that I didn't want him to see. I understood that it was all to do with hormones and mine were, apparently, raging!

Did I 'fancy' Dave? Not knowingly, but subconsciously... Again, let's not go there! Obviously, Dave had no interest in me; I had nothing to offer him - _at all_! I was even tempted the other week to peer in on Dave, while he was in the shower, but chickened out at the last second. Why did I even try? What possessed me? I didn't know, curiosity maybe?

While Dave's body does look very appealing, me? If Dave ever saw me naked, he would probably just laugh! For some reason that thought gave me the desire to put it to the test and let Dave see me naked... My mind was very disturbed that week!

Despite Chloe being younger than me, she was further ahead in development than I was and she actually had breasts, almost non-existent, but still bigger than mine! She was quite happy to show me them, which I found more than a little disturbing and thankfully she didn't show me anything else!

I was no stranger to the male anatomy and I had seen a man's 'equipment' before and I had actually cut one off, once! I never really got shy or embarrassed about seeing that sort of thing, not until now!

Normally Dave and I aren't usually too bothered about privacy. He often saw me in just a towel or in knickers and a t-shirt – hell, he's even seen my bare chest, which has as many bumps as an ice rink! He often only wears shorts and a t-shirt, but sometimes during training he dumps his t-shirt. It never occurred to me to be shy or embarrassed - besides if Dave tried anything I'd kill him, so I didn't need to worry about _that_! But I knew that Dave would never do anything like that to me. He cared about me, at least I liked to think so.

* * *

Dave had completed his motorcycle training and had his Junior Motorcycle licence, with the help of a high quality ID that made him sixteen!

I was impressed, as he seemed to have a talent for riding a motorcycle! Now, I just needed to obtain a decent motorcycle for him.

Chloe had dropped another surprise on me, soon after my birthday. It turned out that she rode motorcycles and quite well, too. I had some experience, from riding a small dirt bike, years ago, but I was way out of practice and I was way too young to go on a State course as Dave had done. Chloe had the great idea of taking me along to a club that she was a member of – they ride motorcycles off-road – a kind of motocross thing. I spent two weeks in December re-learning how to ride, with Chloe's help. I managed to add a few more bruises to my pre-existing collection, but did quite well, I thought.

Dave was impressed and he came along to each ride and from the third visit he started to ride, to build up his skills off-road. I was annoyed that Chloe was better than me, so persevered to improve! It was also great fun and I enjoyed racing Dave and Chloe. Dave usually won, but that would change...

I finally ordered a motorcycle for me, a small framed Honda. Dave insisted that he wanted to order his own motorcycle, so I left him to it. I had a feeling that he would get some dumbass piece of shit that would be completely useless!

* * *

"Dave – am I strange for wanting to see a boy naked?"

"What the fuck?" Dave asked, in response to my completely out of the blue question.

"Never mind!" I said.

"Puberty, huh? Does strange things to your mind!"

"Tell me about it!" I replied.

* * *

Mindy was behaving strangely, but I put it off to her growing up.

Take the other day as an example.

...X...

I had just come out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel. Mindy was watching a movie.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Top Gun!"

"Wow, that's an old film! Wouldn't have thought that was your thing!"

"I have the need… The need for speed…"

"That makes sense, I suppose!"

"Besides, I love seeing them play volley ball in the sand, topless…"

I just froze.

"I'm gonna go get a shirt on!"

...X...

It occurred to me that I might have a problem.

I'd heard of raging hormones, but damn, these must be special Hit Girl hormones! Which probably meant that I was in for a world of hurt! I needed to find out how long puberty lasted in girls!

* * *

**_The following afternoon  
Tuesday_**

I was out shopping and it had occurred to me that I should pick up some 'special items' for Mindy, as I had a feeling that she might need them at some point and it occurred to me that it might be better to be prepared!

I was standing in the store, with a pack of tampons in each hand. Which should I get?

"Dave?"

I turned around and found myself face to face with Marcus!

"How did you know it was me...?"

"I'm a Cop, Dave!"

Then Marcus looked down at my hands and laughed.

"Oh, you've got an entertaining time ahead of you! I've seen a normal girl through puberty and it was bad! Mindy, now that could be apocalyptic and I have to say: rather you than me, good luck Dave!" Marcus said and walked off chuckling to himself.

What the hell was all _that_ supposed to mean!

I grabbed half a dozen boxes of what looked about right and went to pay!

* * *

**_Two days later  
Thursday_**

Turned out that I was prudent to be prepared!

"Dave!"

That sounded like a very worried Mindy!

"What?" I called.

"I – I need… Oh fuck!"

I got up from the couch and wandered toward the bedrooms as Mindy's shouting seemed to be coming from _her_ bedroom, but before I got there Mindy appeared and she looked pale.

"It's started!" She growled.

"Ah! Back in a minute!" I said and Mindy looked a little confused while I went and fetched one of the boxes that I had bought the other day.

"Should I read the instructions for you?" I teased, holding a box up.

Mindy gave me the scariest glare that I had ever received and I was _seriously_ worried about my health at that moment!

"Give me that you fucker!"

Mindy ripped the box from my hand and stomped off to the bathroom without another word.

* * *

**_Forty minutes later_**

"You okay?" I asked carefully, as Mindy reappeared looking awkward and somewhat embarrassed.

"That was kinda weird!" Mindy said.

"I'll take your word for that!" I said, with a smirk.

"It's not fucking funny! I've got another thirty fucking years of this shit!"

"Just what I want to hear!" I groaned.

"Thanks Dave!" Mindy said seriously.

"What for?"

"Getting those – things – for me," Mindy said, looking shy.

"You look after me, Mindy; so I'll look after you."

"Partners to the very end, Dave!"


	10. New Suits, New Wheels

**_Just over two weeks later  
Wednesday  
New York City_**

The snow was swirling in driving flurries and visibility was very low.

It was very dark, which added to the uneasiness that the four men felt while they kept watch in the alley. Their boss was late, very late and this just made them more uneasy; the boss was never late!

Finally, a form could be made out, coming through the snow flurries.

"Thank God, Boss! What happened to…?"

It was _not_ the boss! Actually, the boss was there, but he was being dragged by another man. Except this man was like nothing that they had seen before, at least not in real life. The man wore obvious armour and carried weapons. There was a pistol on his right leg and ammunition on his belt. The man dropped their boss and spoke.

"The easy way, or the hard way. The choice is yours!"

The four men looked at each other and eyed their pistols. But their choice was made for them as another, somewhat smaller, but similarly dressed form emerged from the swirling snow, a sharp blade in each hand and a vicious glare.

"Time to go!" One man said and the others all got up.

"You can leave those!" The man snarled as the men tried to take a pair of sports bags with them. The bags remained as the men ran for it, leaving their boss behind.

The man picked up one of the two bags and then turned to face the smaller form.

"Back to headquarters, Hit Girl!"

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

"Did you have to use that phrase?"

"I thought it sounded cool!"

"My Daddy liked to use it, but then he was a little nuts sometimes!"

Hit Girl stopped to look at herself in the mirror.

"This new suit is really cool and worked well, plus I think it shows off my curves!"

"What curves?" Kick-Ass asked, with a derisive laugh and received a scowl once Hit Girl had removed her wig and mask.

The new suit was very different from the original Hit Girl costume. Damon had designed the original costume as part of the 'big game' that Hit Girl had been at the time. Now, though, being Hit Girl was not a game. The 'game' had come to a sudden, screeching stop with the death of Damon. This new suit was for the ongoing, more serious Hit Girl – this was no longer a game, this was real life, so real protection was needed.

The suit was black and made from a composite stab resistant material that was flexible and fairly form fitting. The suit was made up of trousers and a zip-up jacket that joined to the trousers to form a single suit. The trousers came down to mauve leather boots, with armoured soles that covered the calves with an armoured panel that encircled the lower leg and came up to a few inches below the knees. The knees were protected by armoured pads that were again, mauve. Strapped to the right and left thighs were a pair of pistol holsters that each held a Glock 26 pistol. The holsters were suspended from a belt, which was purple in colour and was festooned with equipment, including four magazine carriers, and two pouches for other equipment, plus two thin pouches that held mini-suppressors for the two pistols.

The jacket had pockets at the front for four formed ballistic plates. The upper left pocket was embossed with the letters 'H' and 'G' in pink. Each pocket was purple and the heavy duty zip was protected with a vertical Velcro strip. The back of the jacket had three pockets that again held three formed ballistic plates and again the pockets were purple.

The shoulders of the jacket had similar armoured pads to the knees and were purple. These pads extended down the upper arm to just above purple armoured elbow pads. The hands and lower arms were covered with gauntlets that had armour on the back of the hands that extended over the wrist joint and up to the elbow. The gauntlets had composite armour for the palms and the front of the fingers. The rear of each finger was purple, while the gauntlet was black.

The neck was protected with a thick collar which was joined to a black cape that extended down to the knees. The head was covered with a purple wig and a form fitting mask around the eyes. The lower face was uncovered.

"It suits you, Hit Girl!" Kick-Ass said with pride.

* * *

"As does yours, Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl replied, checking out the other suit from the feet up.

He had black leather boots, with armoured soles. The boots extended up the calves to armoured and padded grieves on his lower legs. These were green with yellow highlights.

His knees were protected with green, armoured pads that connected to the lower leg grieves. The trousers were made of a synthetic material that was better than Kevlar. Each thigh was protected with extra light-weight armour that was green with yellow highlights.

The right thigh armour had a pistol holster mounted on it that held a Glock 17 Gen 4 pistol.

Around his waist was a yellow belt, trimmed with green and with four pouches on the left hip that held extra magazines for the Glock pistol. Behind these was another pouch that held a suppressor for the same pistol. The right hand side of the belt had three pouches for can-shaped grenades and further round was a scabbard for a fighting knife. At the rear of the belt was a general pouch for other items, including a first aid kit.

On the top half of his body he wore a zip-up jacket made from a synthetic composite material and the jacket was green, with yellow trim and was attached to the trousers with a zip. Covering each hand was a leather and synthetic composite armour gauntlet. The gauntlets were capable of seizing hold of double edged knives, without damage to the gauntlet or wearer. The palms were black and the fingers were green. The back of the gauntlets were black with yellow highlights and had lightweight ballistic plates that extended back to the lower arm protecting the wrist. The elbows were armoured and padded in a similar way to the knees and were green.

Each shoulder was padded and armoured, with the armour extending down over the upper arm. This was green with yellow highlights.

The neck was protected by a padded surround that did not inhibit movement. A chest and back plate were worn that joined together at the shoulders and fastened around the abdomen with Velcro. Both plates had green pockets with yellow trim, for formed ballistic plates, four each to the front and rear. There were additional attachments on the chest plates to allow for extra equipment. The top left of the chest plate was embossed with the letters 'K' and 'A', in yellow.

He wore a reproduction of his original mask, but this mask was made from a composite material, with extra padding. As before it was green, with yellow highlights and covered his entire face.

"I think that you may be right, Hit Girl!"

"Of course I'm right, Ass-Kick! Now, what did we acquire this evening?"

* * *

**_The following morning  
Thursday  
Atomic Comics_**

"You know, I had the strangest feeling the other day. I was certain that I saw Dave and he was in the, err, female toiletries section of the store! Maybe I need glasses," Erika said.

"Have you noticed that Dave was not around _that night_, but Kick-Ass was? Kick-Ass vanishes and so does Dave?" I asked.

"Marty, your imagination runs away with you sometimes!"

"Dave always wanted to be a super-hero! He sat in this very seat and said: '_How come nobody's ever tried to be a superhero_'? I know this sounds really stupid but... Could Dave be Kick-Ass?"

"Marty, we're talking about Dave Lizewski here!" Erika said, laughing at the preposterous suggestion.

Neither of them saw the short, blonde girl scowl and walk out of the comic store.

* * *

**_New York City_**

This had to stop!

My mind was preoccupied with Mindy, Damon and this Dave character. People have started to notice that I've been spending a lot of time looking into the murder of Dave's Dad and Dave's 'disappearance'. The case had been classified as cold and filed away, but I had other ideas. If I kept on this I was going to get into trouble, which would not be good!

A saving grace had been the stream of dead bodies or bound men, and bags of drugs that a 'mysterious caller' had handed to me! _I_ knew exactly who the 'mysterious caller' was that growled over the phone each time; Mindy! The Lieutenant and the Captain seemed quite happy just to accept the drugs that were coming off the streets and ignore where the information was coming from. They just put it down to a very good informant that I had! If they only knew that I was speaking with the perpetrator and that I knew exactly who it was!

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

"This another one of your hidden gems?" Dave asked dubiously.

"Not too sure about 'gem'!" I replied.

The 'gem' was an old, abandoned, car garage that my Daddy had obtained, years before, but never used. We had checked out both the area and the building. It had not been visited in years, but the alarms had never been activated and the security was apparently still intact. We entered the garage and checked the interior. No problems were found apart from a little damp and a lot of dust.

"This is Safehouse G!" I said happily.

"Love it!"

"Hey, drop the sarcasm!" I warned.

..._...

Outside the Safehouse were two large packing crates that had been delivered an hour ago, by a 'special courier'. The crates had been positioned so that their ends were against the garage door, which meant that we could unload them without anybody being aware of the crates' contents. There was no line of sight into the garage itself.

We opened the smaller crate first and I wheeled out my new motorcycle. Naturally it was purple and it was a small-framed Honda – okay I'm short, fucking get over it! The one hundred and twenty-five cc motorcycle was small and light which would be perfect for me! It had been modified to make it road legal with lights and the other required equipment.

On opening the other crate, I saw what Dave had bought and I was pissed! But, I was also impressed, very impressed! I was also _fucking jealous_!

"You fucking bastard!" I said.

"I thought it was a good buy!" Dave moaned.

"It's a fucking brilliant buy, Dave! I just wish that I was big enough to ride the fucker!"

Dave laughed.

"It's big enough for you to ride with me!" Dave said.

It was a Ducati Multistrada with a huge one hundred and sixty horsepower engine. The motorcycle was green, with yellow highlights and had monster Continental TKC 80 Twinduro tyres. On each side of the rear of the machine was a large black pannier for additional equipment. There was also additional protection for the engine and air intake. Dave had done this properly; I was really impressed!

"Did I do right?"

"Fuck, yeah! Well done, Dave!"

* * *

**_The following evening  
Friday  
Safehouse C_**

"So, what do you think?"

"I think it's good; it was past time!"

"Oh fuck!" Mindy said to herself, sounding annoyed and she looked up at me, her eyes were brimming with tears and she looked ashamed.

"Mindy, don't be ashamed; it's not a weakness - it is perfectly normal," I said quietly. "You don't know what normal is; but I can help you with that."

The tears started falling down Mindy's cheeks as she looked up at the picture of her Daddy that we had just hung on the wall. It wasn't much, but it was something and it obviously meant a lot to Mindy. I felt her grasp my hand and hold on tight, very tight! I could feel her shaking as she cried. I hoped that this would be some form of closure for her, but I knew that it probably wouldn't be.

We had hung the picture next to the picture of my father. I was holding back my own tears, similarly ashamed of looking weak in front of Mindy. But there was a time and place for bravado and this was not it.

I hugged Mindy as my own tears fell.


	11. Erika

**_One week later  
Saturday  
Safehouse C_**

I examined the large pile of throwing knives on the floor and then looked up to the empty target.

"Room for improvement!" I said, dryly, turning around and looking at Dave.

"Just a bit!"

"Look, not everybody is all wonderful, like me!" I grinned.

"You _are_ wonderful – I'll give you that!"

"Flattery gets you nowhere, ass! Well, almost nowhere!"

* * *

Mindy seemed to be calming down, a little.

I wasn't expecting miracles, but every little counted, at least for my own personal safety! When Mindy had written that letter to Marcus, last year, I had had to intervene to ensure that Marcus received a nice letter and not just a string of expletives, which kinda made up Mindy's first and second drafts!

...x...

"Hey, asshole! I don't have any fucking friends and I've never written a goddamn letter before! Give me a fucking break!" She'd yelled at me.

"I'm sorry, Mindy! Calm the fuck down! I just said that you should be a little more polite to the man that raised you for the first five years of your life!" I had replied.

...x...

That had been a different Mindy. Now she seemed to be a _little_ less 'hot-headed', at least outside of her Hit Girl persona – maybe she was starting to like me! She was also starting to behave a little bit more like a normal teenage girl.

Chloe was over and I had walked into the kitchen while they were discussing 'girl stuff', at least I assumed that it was 'girl stuff', as I heard words and phrases along the lines of 'period' and 'cup size' and 'boys' and 'bras' and at one stage they had both gone bright red and then started talking about something completely different!

Maybe Chloe was rubbing off on Mindy, in a good way.

..._...

On the other side of the coin I was a little worried that Mindy might have been rubbing off onto Chloe, in a bad way! Well, anything that Mindy had to offer _had_ to be bad, didn't it?

Chloe was caught with Mindy's bō-staff, the other day and Mindy had been a little annoyed.

"Hey! Put that down before you fucking kill yourself!"

"It's really cool! Have you killed many people with this?"

"One or two," Mindy had replied and Chloe had delicately put the bō-staff back down.

I vividly remembered when I had first met Hit Girl and seen her wield that damn bō-staff and slaughter every single person in that apartment, except for me! Me, I had almost died of a damned heart attack, watching her do her stuff without a moment's hesitation or any sign of a conscience.

Mindy still scared me, but only in the knowledge of what she could do - what she was capable of. I knew that I was safe and that she would never hurt me, at least not intentionally. I had actually found myself caring for the girl and she was good fun to have around. Yes, she had a rather warped sense of humour, but we seemed to get on well together and I found myself tolerating her strange and often violent behaviour.

One fun thing, though, was what Chloe had reported back after one of her visits to the comic shop. She had described two people discussing 'Dave Lizewski' and that the boy, in this case Marty, thought that I might be Kick-Ass. The girl, though, who was Erika, thought that that idea was totally preposterous. Chloe had a feeling that they were talking about me, so reported back. I thanked her for doing that and had a good laugh!

I was also enjoying our nights out on the streets, especially as I wasn't getting the crap kicked out of me, like usual! I was learning a lot and I mean a lot; I could shoot and I was getting better at Martial Arts and I had muscles for the first time in my life, which was awesome. On that subject I had also noticed Mindy checking me out, but Mindy would look away quickly, if I noticed. It was quite amusing actually – might she have a crush on me?

* * *

**_That night_**

We went out again, as we did most nights.

This time, though, was our first night out on two wheels! Mindy was a little unhappy not to use her own motorcycle, but we decided that it would be better to use the Ducati, so that we were riding two up. It was a good feeling driving through the dark streets of Brooklyn towards New York. I really enjoyed riding a motorcycle and it was great to be mobile and go where we wanted. We could also get out of trouble fast too!

* * *

It was cool!

I wasn't that amused to be riding on the back of a motorcycle, but it felt good and I enjoyed the ride and I also seemed to enjoy wrapping my arms around Kick-Ass! We both sported similar helmets. Mine was, guess what... While Dave's was green, with a yellow stripe. The visors were tinted and looked really cool.

Interestingly, we weren't attracting too much attention and _that_ was probably due to the many new and rather diverse 'superheroes' that were coming out of the woodwork! Most of these _wannabes_ were, frankly, downright amusing! At least this allowed the _real_ superheroes, such as myself, and I suppose Kick-Ass to stand out a little less, while we went about our vigilante affairs.

* * *

Something looked interesting.

We pulled over and parked the motorcycle in a dark alley. Hit Girl threw a tarpaulin over the motorcycle and we moved further into the alley. We had seen some men, who didn't seem to be out for an evening stroll! We moved closer, sticking to the shadows. Our new boots made moving silently, very easy, especially for a hunk like Dave! Did I just use that word, to describe Dave? Oh – my – God!

I forced my mind back to the here and now! Three men were talking. They stopped talking and turned as we got to within a few yards of them.

"What the hell?"

"Don't she look cute?"

"Nah, she looks pissed, but still kinda cute!"

"You cunts had your fun?" I growled.

"I suppose..."

"Well know it's my turn to have fun!"

I threw myself forward and punch the first man, sending him backwards where he stumbled into the next man. Kick-Ass moved and drove a fist into the third man's face and he went down hard, with barely a sound.

The first man drew his pistol and fired, the round hit me high on the left side of my chest and the impact pushed me backwards and I cannoned into the alley wall. The second man drew his pistol and Kick-Ass brought a baton down hard on his wrist, snapping it and cracking the man over the head with his other baton.

I pulled a pistol and shot the first man in the chest, from four feet away. The man fell with blood spreading across his chest.

"You okay?" Kick-Ass asked, pulling me back to my feet.

"I'll live; no penetration!" I replied, holstering my pistol.

We checked over the men and found a few hundred dollars in cash and some drugs. I called in the hit to our tame Cop and headed back towards the motorcycle, with the cash.

* * *

Just as we were riding away, Hit Girl saw something that would be a problem.

A car had stopped, on the opposite side of the street and two men had got out. Each man had an AKS-74U assault rifle held ready for use.

"Oh fuck!" I said.

I immediately pulled over and we dismounted, removing our helmets. The men hadn't seen us as their attention seemed to be on a building on their side of the street. Mindy and I had discussed carrying heavier weapons, but that was as far as we had got – discussed, so all we had with us that night were three nine-millimetre pistols!

"Plan?" I asked, my much more experienced partner.

"Well, normal people don't go up against assault rifles with pistols..."

I sensed a 'but' coming.

"But, luckily for you - I'm not normal!" Hit Girl replied and drew both pistols.

I grimaced and drew my Glock. I'd have to get used to this sort of thing, I supposed! Hit Girl moved across the road and aimed her pistols.

"Yippee-Ki-Yay, motherfuckers!" She growled loudly and the two men span around with their weapons raised.

Hit Girl started firing her pistols, but her rounds weren't dropping the two men who seemed to be wearing body armour, but before she could fire headshots, the men started sending fully automatic gunfire in our direction and we both dived to the ground. I fired several rounds which dropped one man when a pair of rounds impacted the man's face dead centre.

We crawled behind a convenient car and listened to the bullets carving through the vehicle. We both reloaded our pistols and got ready for the next attack. But nothing came as the AKS fire ceased and the man jumped back into his car, leaving his partner dead on the sidewalk and accelerated away. We crossed over and Hit Girl checked out the dead man.

"This is _not_ good!" She announced, looking down at the body without further elaboration.

* * *

"You are fucking crazy, girl!" I announced as we headed back to the motorcycle.

"Who's the crazier? The crazy one or the one that follows the crazy one?" Hit Girl responded.

I chuckled and Hit Girl smiled. We pulled our helmets on and continued down the street on the Ducati.

..._...

Twenty minutes later we had stopped and parked up beside a park.

It was time for a breather, plus we needed to re-load our empty magazines from the stash of ammunition stored in the Ducati's panniers. A warm coffee also helped to refresh us after our interesting evening. There were still people around, despite it being well after nine in the evening. It was just then that a motorcycle came down the street and I saw Hit Girl give it a strange look, before yelling out.

"Get down!"

Things happened very fast.

Hit Girl dived for the nearest group of people and pushed them down to the ground and I rushed towards a girl that had just come out of the park.

I pulled the girl out of the way of the gunfire and we rolled across the grass and came to rest beside a tree.

"Thanks!"

I looked up into the eyes of...

"Erika?"

"D - Dave?"

"Well, this is awkward!"


	12. Marty

**_Saturday Night  
Safehouse C_**

That had been an interesting evening!

"You enjoy yourself, Officer Maclean?" I asked Mindy.

"Couldn't resist; I watched the first three Die Hard movies on Thursday!"

"I noticed! You really get into those action movies, don't you?" I commented, then turned serious. "Anyway, _Mindy_, since when do you go postal and attack two guys armed with damned assault rifles?"

I must have pushed the wrong or right button, depending on how you looked at it.

"Hey! I'm Hit Girl, I don't fucking run away, asshole!"

I took a deep breath, before replying.

"You got shot and banged up against a wall this evening and then you almost got yourself cut in half by a goddamn assault rifle! You are not fucking invincible, or have you fucking forgotten the D'Amico Penthouse!"

I saw Mindy scowl and had a brief moment of fear, but ignored it. I had to get through to her; I didn't want anything to happen to _my_ Mindy. Hold on! That was the first time that I had referred to Mindy as _my_ Mindy – I really did care about her!

"Look you jumped up green asshole! I don't fucking need you to tell me what's goddamn safe and what the hell isn't! That was a low fucking blow, talking about _that night_! _I_ am the professional here, you're just the fucking side-kick wannabe!"

Okay! Was this just hormones or was she really pissed. How far should I take this?

"Now look here Hit Girl, you may think that you're the best at what you do, but there are people who care about you, so get used to the fucking idea!"

"I don't _think_ that I am the best; I fucking _know_ that I am the fucking best, asshole!" Mindy yelled back.

"It's time to fucking grow up Mindy! This is the real fucking world; not a fucking comic book and actions have consequences and when you're dead you're fucking dead!" I retorted and headed to my bedroom, leaving Mindy standing alone in the middle of the Safehouse.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

I was up around eight the following morning and headed straight to the kitchen for coffee.

Yet again that girl had knocked me for a loop! Every time that I thought I'd got her figured out, she did something like last night. Not only had she dived into a situation that could have killed her, she almost ripped Erika apart!

After having saved Erika, I had helped her up and then Hit Girl had immediately seized her and thrown her up against a tree.

"Not one fucking word! You don't say one solitary fucking word! Understand?"

"Enough!" I'd said and pulled Hit Girl away and then back to the motorcycle.

..._...

Mindy stayed in her room until well after lunchtime.

Just as I was starting to get worried and considering checking on her, she finally appeared. She was in her pyjamas and looked in a right state. Her eyes were red and swollen, she also had a vicious bruise on her upper left arm. It was then that I remembered, with a jolt, that she had been shot and had hit that wall rather hard, the night before.

"Let me check that bruise," I suggested and Mindy obediently sat beside me on the couch.

"I'm still mad at you!" Mindy stated, avoiding my eyes.

"No you're not; you've realised you were in the wrong, but I know that you won't ever actually admit that."

Mindy looked at me and I could see that she had been crying some time ago.

"I couldn't sleep. My chest and my arm hurt too much," Mindy finally admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded.

"You were mad at me and I was trying to be mad at you and..."

"Mindy, I'm sorry. I should not have forgotten about your injuries and left you last night."

"Shit happens!" Mindy said with a somewhat forced smile.

"Let's get you sorted out, okay?"

* * *

I was so stupid.

I should never have gone up against those men with the assault rifles; they were goddamned Russian Mafia and now they were after us! Well done, Mindy!

How did I know that they were Russian Mafia? I'd seen the vivid tattoo on the dead man's neck, which was as good as a membership card. I let myself get carried away, as fucking usual!

I looked over to the corner of the Safehouse, at the cabinet that held my Daddy's armour and sniper rifle and I mentally apologised to Daddy for my errors and promised that I would not let them happen again.

I was stupid to react to Dave in the way that I did, too, when we got back here. I knew that he cared about me, but I didn't think that it had ever occurred to me exactly how much he cared! After all I was his family, as much as he was mine and I really did need Dave. I would never admit it to his face, but I needed him and would not be able to survive without him. I knew all about combat and fighting and stuff, but Dave knew about the real world and how to be normal, almost like Chloe. I say 'almost' 'cause that girl was not normal!

I was lucky that I just had a bruised chest and arm and nothing worse! Those AKS rounds would have cut through our armour without a second thought.

..._...

Another problem had arisen, though: Hit Girl was a pussy! Dave had tried not to notice, but I thought that he must have noticed that things have changed on my chest. Basically, I needed a bra - but I didn't have the fucking guts to ask Dave to help me; so yeah, Hit Girl was a fucking pussy!

Dave had said that he needed to go out, so that gave me some time to sort myself out. I grabbed a shower and got dressed then sat down to watch the next Die Hard movie.

* * *

I had to admit that my shopping trip could have been more embarrassing, but I survived!

I had gone out to meet Chloe and then we had gone shopping, as I had needed her help for more than one task. Once my tasks were completed, I thanked her and we went our separate ways. By the time I had returned to the Safehouse, Mindy was dressed and looking a lot more presentable.

"Hi!" I said, cautiously, as I came in the door.

"Hi, Dave!" A much happier sounding Mindy, replied and she smiled a proper smile too.

"Got something for you and before you ask, it's nothing violent or vigilante related!" I said and saw the excitement vanish from Mindy's face.

Mindy peered into the bag and I saw her eyes go wide and her face went bright red. Now one of two things were going to happen: she kills me, or she just growls at me and takes the bag to her room. But I was wrong, Mindy picked a third option!

"Thank you, Dave – I – I really couldn't do this without you..."

Then she vanished into her bedroom – with the bag. I had, with Chloe's help, obtained some bras for Mindy. Nothing special, just plain white and the smallest available. It was more than a little embarrassing poking around the bras in the store, I could tell you and I was getting a lot of strange looks!

Mindy reappeared, dressed as before, but itching at something under her t-shirt. I tried not to smirk, but it wasn't easy, although the possibility of impending injury helped.

"I considered taking you with me to choose, but..."

"Not fucking likely!" Mindy replied with a big grin. "Thanks, I think... It itches like fuck!"

"Well you did seem to need one! I, err, had to rope in Chloe to help me pick the right ones..."

"Smart as well as handsome!" Mindy replied before blushing and clamping her hand over her mouth.

* * *

**_Two days later  
Tuesday  
Safehouse C_**

"Now Hit Girl, be nice to the visitors! No biting and no hitting, understand?"

"Yes, Ass-Kick!" Came the sarcastic response.

We were on the second floor, directly beneath the Safehouse, where we usually practiced with our pistols. I heard the main door, downstairs, click open and then shut. Next came footsteps on the stairs and three people appeared.

* * *

"Oh no! Not _her_ again!"

"You're safe Erika; she _won't_ attack you!" I said, trying to put her mind at rest, although I didn't think that she was totally convinced.

"What the fuck?" Marty exclaimed. "Dave! Is that you? Why the hell are you dressed like – well – kinda like Kick-Ass?"

"Isn't that obvious? Or is it too preposterous, Erika? I am and always have been, Kick-Ass! Come on, guys," I said and led them upstairs, with Chloe and Hit Girl following.

..._...

Once we were back in the Safehouse, I pulled off my mask.

"We all thought that you were dead!" Marty exclaimed.

"I'm not dead, thanks to my new little friend, Hit Girl!" I said.

"Watch who you're calling _little_, cunt!"

"So you are _that_ girl!" Erika said, with understanding. It was a statement, more than a question.

"Yes, I am!" Mindy said, pulling off her mask.

"Damn, you're young!" Erika exclaimed and I was sure that Mindy blushed slightly. "You even started puberty yet?"

"Hey! I promised Dave that I wouldn't hurt you; now don't make me break that promise!"

"Sorry, that was rude!" Erika apologised quickly.

"I'm really speechless!" Marty said.

"For a change..." I quipped.

"Tell me about it!" Erika added with a grin.

Mart stepped forward and gave me a hug.

"Damn, I've missed you Dave..."

"I've missed you too Marty, I really have and I've even missed you Erika!"

"Dave, I'm so sorry about your Dad; he was a great guy," Marty said.

"Thanks. I miss him a lot. Mindy lost her own Dad that night, so we look after each other."

"You two aren't..."

"Erika!" Marty exclaimed.

"No, we aren't fucking!" Mindy growled, with a slight pinkness to her cheeks. She avoided my eyes too.

"I saw you in the store, down the feminine hygiene aisle! I knew it was you; you were buying for short-ass here..."

"Hey! Remember what I said!" Mindy growled and Erika took a step back.

"Yes that was me!" I admitted.

"And where do _you_ fit into this madhouse?" Erika asked, looking at Chloe.

"Wrong place, wrong time! I'm Mindy's friend, Dave's too!"

"It's good to meet you Mindy, I'm Erika!" Erika said, holding out her hand and Mindy shook it.

"Sorry about roughing you up the other night," Mindy apologised and she actually sounded quite genuine!

"I'm glad somebody is looking after Dave; I'm Marty! You have one hell of a place here!"

..._...

"New costumes?" Marty asked, examining the new suits.

"We needed upgrades; the wetsuit wasn't quite cutting it and neither was Mindy's costume."

"I'm sorry about your Dad, Mindy. That was _really_ horrible, what they did to him," Erika said. "It scared the shit outta me!"

"Thanks, Erika. He suffered quite a bit, but at least I managed to rescue Dave!"

"That was a major beating you took, Dave! What happened after that; you just fucking vanished?"

"We had to get vengeance on the man that killed my Daddy!" Mindy said angrily. "Dave offered to help and I'm glad he did, or I would be dead right now, pushing up the fucking daisies!"

"Well Dave, you managed to accomplish your idea of becoming a superhero and along the way found another one! You two are the real fucking deal!"


	13. Marcus

**_Tuesday  
Safehouse C_**

"Dave, what happened to Katie?" Erika asked.

"We don't know. Her family was killed, we found the bodies, but Katie's body has never been found," I responded. "The NYPD say that the case has gone cold."

"What! They can't do that!" Erika demanded. "It's Katie!"

"I'm sorry. But, we are doing what we can to avenge our Dad's and Katie. We think that she might have been kidnapped by somebody related to the D'Amico family."

Mindy was rubbing her chest.

"What's up?" I asked.

"The armour stopped the goddamn bullet, but it fucking hurts underneath and there's a bit more to be hurt there than there was last time I was shot!"

* * *

"Show me what you've got, Ass-Kick!" I goaded.

"Come on then short-ass!" Dave retorted and grinned at Marty.

Chloe, Marty and Erika were sitting on the couch and eagerly watching our little show. Dave moved in and I let him get in some strikes – didn't want him to look bad in front of his friends! I mistimed one dodge and Dave's foot caught me on my left shoulder and sent me, literally, spinning off to one side; how embarrassing!

Damn! Dave was improving – maybe I was a good teacher, who knew! He was also getting stronger, so when he did hit me, it fucking hurt like hell. I kept telling him never to pull a punch or a kick - I often did, otherwise I'd fucking kill him! Maybe I just needed to learn to dodge better...

I gathered my dented ego up and turned back to Dave. I expected him to apologise for hurting me, but no.

"Back for more, little bitch!"

I scowled at him, expecting him to flinch, but nothing! He was actually getting good, which was a surprise, but it was what we were working towards. Dave said that the Kick-Ass that had helped me kill D'Amico had been Kick-Ass 2.0 and we were working towards Kick-Ass 3.0, so maybe he was now Kick-Ass 2.8? He still had a ways to go, considering that I was Hit Girl 10.0!

Time to show everybody what Hit Girl could do...

I stared into Dave's eyes and watched for the slightest tell-tale that he was about to move. We both stayed motionless for what seemed like hours but was barely two minutes. There it was a dilating of the pupils and a shift of focus. Dave had barely moved a foot, before I planted a devastating spinning kick into his side and he rolled across the mat with a grunt of pain.

"You are terminated!" I said triumphantly.

"I'll be back, Hit Girl!" Dave grimaced from the mat.

Chloe and Erika seemed to approve, while Marty seemed a little appalled, but he did smirk.

* * *

**_A week later  
Tuesday  
One Police Plaza_**

This was nuts!

Totally fucking nuts! I was standing on the roof of One Police Plaza, at night and it was cold, very cold! I had received a cryptic letter, just that morning, delivered by a young girl that looked remarkably like Mindy, but much more polite!

The letter had told me to be here, at ten twenty-two in the evening. The letter had been signed '_M_', so I assumed that it had been Mindy. It was worth the risk, if I could talk to that girl, if only for a minute.

* * *

"No uniform tonight?" A voice growled out of the darkness and I took a chance with my reply.

"I'm a Detective Sergeant now, partially thanks to you guys – just waiting for a Lieutenant's slot."

"Congratulations, Marcus!" I recognised that voice again, it was Mindy. Just hearing her voice sent happy emotions through me.

Two forms emerged from the darkness – one much shorter than the other. They wore some rather extreme outfits. Was that body armour?

"I assume that the short one is Hit Girl!"

"You assume right and less of the 'short'!"

"She gets a bit upset when people call her 'short'!" The other form commented and it sounded like Dave.

"Surviving her growing pains, then?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Barely!" Kick-Ass quipped. "_Bloody_ nightmare!"

"You're the one who's gonna be bleeding, cunt!" Hit Girl growled.

"That's where it normally comes from!" Kick-Ass added with a laugh and Hit Girl scowled.

"Do I get a hug – from Hit Girl, or is she above all that?" I asked.

* * *

Hit Girl hesitated and then stepped forwards, before then taking another step and wrapping her arms around Marcus, who did the same.

"I've really missed you," Marcus said.

"I've missed you, too, Marcus."

After a few minutes the two of them separated and Hit Girl stood looking unsure of herself, maybe; I couldn't see her face.

"I assume that you're gonna continue staying with Kick-Ass at your super-secret Hit Cave?" Marcus suggested.

"It is not a Hit Cave, although I wouldn't mind having one! I'm staying with Kick-Ass; he needs me – and – I need him..."

"I won't push it, so just keep each other safe and keep in contact – so I know that you're safe."

"I will, I promise!" Hit Girl replied.

"Those are some really neat suits, are they functional?" Marcus asked.

"Not much use if they weren't!" Hit Girl replied.

"They've proved their worth!" Kick-Ass added.

That worried me a bit, but at least they were serious about looking after themselves, so I couldn't complain too much!

"Oh and please don't make too much of a mess around the City!"

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

Mindy hadn't removed her suit. She was just sitting on the couch having only removed her wig and mask. I sat down beside her.

"Need to talk?"

"I – I'm glad I got to talk to Marcus – I know it was short, but it made me feel weird, inside. I don't know how to describe it really, but..."

"It's okay – I know what you mean. Just shows that Hit Girl is actually human!" I said giving Mindy a grin.

* * *

He had a dorky grin, but I liked it!

I really meant it when I said that I needed Dave – I really did need him and I knew that he needed me. I enjoyed seeing Marcus, if only for a few minutes and I thought that he enjoyed seeing me too.

I hoped that I was doing the right thing and that Daddy would agree – I would hate to let him down and I thought of him every day, especially when I saw his armour and his picture. I saw Dave looking at the picture of his Dad every morning too. Not too sure what Dave thought about me placing a cup of steaming hot chocolate brimmed with marshmallows, below the photos, every now and then?

"Right! I need some sleep. Dave help me off with this crap!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

* * *

**_Three days later  
Friday  
Safehouse C_**

"We had one or two problems the other night!" Mindy commented, rubbing her chest.

She was laying out some firearms on the work-bench.

"Right, listen up; school is in session!" Mindy announced. "Left to right! Heckler and Koch submachine guns: MP5K-PDW – 'K' for Kurz, meaning 'short' – don't laugh, cunt! MP5SD6 – silenced, MP5-N which can be fitted with a suppressor and has a retractable stock. All these have the 'Navy' trigger group which allows selectable fire – either semi-auto, 3 or three round burst and full auto. All are also chambered for the 9x19-millimetre Parabellum cartridge – the same round that our pistols use. All of these MP5 series weapons can also be fitted with fifteen-round or thirty-round magazines.

"You are gonna learn to make-safe, strip, clean, reassemble and fire each of these weapons. Then we will have the ability for fully automatic fire, when it is called upon. We will need better weapons, but these should do us for the moment until I can sort out something better."

"Cool!"


	14. Katie

The room was dark, very dark and I was scared.

I had been kept here, against my will, for over four months – at least I thought so; it was so very difficult to keep track. It was near the end of September, when some men had burst into my home and I was dragged away. They had threatened to hurt my family, if I did not do everything that they demanded. Even now, I hope that my family are all safe. It is the only thing that has kept me sane and doing what I was told these long weeks.

I had to admit that I had not been badly mistreated and thankfully never abused or raped – which had been my worst nightmare. From what I understood this had something to do with Dave Lizewski. Somehow these men knew that I was associated with Kick-Ass and that I was also aware of Kick-Ass' true identity. I did my best, I honestly did; but finally I blurted out his name and felt horrible for doing it.

I had hoped that once they had the information that they were seeking, they would release me so I could go back to my family, but no, they had kept me here for weeks and weeks. I had had no contact with the outside world and no opportunities to call for help. The men holding me always had their faces covered, which I took as a good sign! Why hide their faces if they were going to kill me? At least _that_ gave me some form of hope. I prayed every night to be rescued – maybe I would be rescued by Kick-Ass!

Stupid idea – I knew that Dave was probably dead and Kick-Ass gone! I had seen that online video that showed Dave, as Kick-Ass, being beaten up – I had screamed for it to stop, but to no avail. Then that girl, at the very end of the video – she seemed to have saved Dave, before she had shot out the camera – maybe Dave did survive; I could only hope!

* * *

**_The same afternoon  
Friday_**

"Goddammit, you fucking crazy bitch!"

"Fun, huh!"

"No! Absolutely not – and stop laughing!"

"Sorry, I can't help myself – that was really funny, seeing you blasted back like that!"

"Oh, yeah! Really fucking funny, Mindy! It's not cool, like at all!"

"Go again?"

"No! You crazy – purple – nut job! Stop laughing!"

* * *

It had to be done!

Dave had to learn what it really felt like to be shot and there was only one way to do it! Okay, I had cheated and used a Glock 22, chambered in .40 calibre – which dealt a good punch and I had enjoyed it, too – so fucking sue me!

Dave moaned about it the whole way back to the damn Safehouse. But you had to be cruel to be kind sometimes – something that I had learnt from Daddy, as some of his training had seemed very cruel – at least I had thought so, but I was still very thankful for it as it had paid off in the long run!

* * *

She could be _so_ fucking evil!

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Friday the 13th that day! I was not superstitious, but Mindy _was_ evil and when you matched her with the date – well...

It was amazing how much shit was actually crammed into such a small person! But, I was slowly getting closer to her skill level – still a long, long, long way away, but at least I was some form of a threat know when we sparred and not just a damn bowling pin; getting knocked down, stood up and knocked back down again! Every now and then I was able to plant a good one on Mindy. This gave me pause for thought, as I was more than a little concerned about causing permanent damage – after all she was still a young girl and a good kick or punch by me, could break something!

Mindy would usually look mad when I hit her, but I knew that she was mad with herself, and not me. She was rarely mad at me, which I was quite happy with, but she was pushing herself – quite a bit actually. I thought that she might be worried that if she really shouted at me, then I might walk out. There was no way that I would _ever_ abandon Mindy – I was in for the long haul and I would only leave if Mindy asked me to and when I knew that she was safe and could look after herself or was being looked after by somebody like Marcus.

Did I love Mindy? Yes, I thought that I did, but in the brother/sister way. I cared for her immensely and I hoped that she cared for me, too! Maybe one day she would meet somebody that she could spend the rest of her life with and be safe and happy.

Would I be jealous? Hell yes!

* * *

**_The following day  
Saturday  
Safehouse C_**

"That fucking hurt!"

"No pain, no gain, Marty!"

"Gee, thanks Mindy!"

Erika tried not to laugh. Mindy was training Marty, Erika and Chloe. Marty obviously had quite a lot of weight to lose, while Chloe and Erika just had some toning up to do.

"Hey Marty – if I can train _him_; then I can train anybody!" Mindy said, looking at me.

"Gee, thanks Mindy!" I said, mimicking Marty.

Mindy showed Marty her rock hard stomach, which impressed Erika.

"Look, if I can make Dave hard – I can make anybody hard!" Mindy said innocently.

Chloe and Erika burst out laughing, closely followed by Marty and me. Mindy however didn't seem to get the joke – well not immediately, but a few seconds later Mindy went bright red.

"You know what I fucking meant, you cunts!"

..._...

The rest of the morning passed without too many bruises and Mindy had overcome her embarrassment – mainly by laying into _me_ as a distraction!

Finally Marty was flat on the mat and could barely move. Erika and Chloe were dripping sweat and breathing heavily. Even Mindy was looking tired, which was good was I was fucking knackered!

"I think we need a cab!" Erika said, getting to her feet.

"Same time next week?" Mindy asked.

"Yeah, right! It'll take a goddamn month to recover from this!" Marty groaned.

"Suck it up, Marty!" Mindy ordered, but she still helped him up off the mat with a grin.

"Thanks Mindy – I'll call!" Marty said as he left.

* * *

_**Riker's Island**_

"What have you got for me?"

"Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, Boss."

"Who and who? Kick-Ass? Wasn't he that dick getting beaten to shit some months ago? Who the fuck is Hit Girl?"

"They are vigilantes Boss and they killed Frank – apparently one of them blew Frank out of a window with a bazooka!"

"A bazooka?"

"Yes, Boss!"

"Frank was killed by a couple of lunatics in costumes? What the fuck is going on out there? Two idiots dressed up as God knows what kill dozens of men and then blow Frank out the window with a fucking bazooka?"

"Apparently!"

"I want them dead – I want their heads – see to it!"

"Yes Boss!"


	15. Alex

**_Three days later  
Tuesday  
Brooklyn_**

I needed a new place to stop and rest my backside at night.

I had found a decrepit looking building that was built from a red type of stone. It looked fairly solid and should keep the wind and rain off of me.

Surprisingly the main door was solid and seemed to be locked, so I moved around the ground floor and finally found a damaged part of the building – it looked like a lorry had backed into the wall and damaged a window frame. I was able to force the window open with a piece of discarded steel that I had found.

Inside, I found rubbish strewn about, but otherwise the place seemed okay and there was no sign of any damp. First things first, I would need to scout out the building to find out if it was completely abandoned. The first floor was similarly empty, but rather worryingly it looked like somebody used one wall as a firing range!

The final floor was the jackpot! The corridor was tidier, but there was a steel door off the corridor. I took a chance and pulled on the handle – it opened and I walked through the door.

* * *

I dragged the bags up the stairs and wistfully dreamed of there being an elevator!

On the third floor I punched in the code, but the door didn't click open – the lock was on the fritz again! Second time this month – I would have to see if Marty could fix it. I pulled open the door, stepped in and froze.

"You know – in the normal world people would see this scene as very, very strange! However, after a few months living with you – this just seems so normal!" I said, taking in the scene before me.

"I can explain!"

"This should be good!" I laughed. "So, what is the excuse for my finding a thirteen year-old girl, stark naked and standing over an unconscious boy?"

I think I must have reminded her of something, because Mindy went bright red and tried to cover herself up. I laughed and grabbed a towel before throwing it to her, so she that she could regain some dignity!

"There were no more towels in the bathroom and I never checked before I went for a shower. I came out here to get a towel and well – I found that boy in the Safehouse, so I cracked him with a spinning kick!"

"He must have enjoyed that, just before he lost consciousness!" I quipped and received a nasty combined glare and scowl in return.

* * *

That had been embarrassing, no humiliating, no worse – mortifying!

Strangely though I felt a strange feeling when Dave saw me naked. It was a strange feeling that I had never felt before, but it felt good – it felt awesome.

Well, it couldn't get any more humiliating that was for certain!

* * *

Mindy reappeared with clothes on!

"That's better, Mindy!"

"Ha, ha!"

"What do we do with the boy?" I asked. I had checked him out and he was breathing and must have been about twelve or thirteen.

"I was going to tie him up, before you arrived..."

"That would have looked good: a naked girl, tying up a boy – I never knew you were into that sort of thing, Mindy!" I laughed.

Mindy blushed again and looked mad!

"I am not – I would not – I..." Mindy gave up and lapsed into an embarrassed silence.

* * *

Okay, I was wrong; it _could_ get more humiliating!

I really need to watch what I am saying around Dave and the others – second time in a few days that I've said something that got twisted into innuendo: I have so much still to learn about real life!

I couldn't be mad with Dave, it _was_ funny and well, it was good for us to have a laugh from time to time!

* * *

**_Long Island_**

It was time to avenge my father – I had simmered for fucking months.

I had to get even with that fucking asshole Kick-Ass and that purple bitch Hit Girl – they had both been responsible for killing my father. I now had a choice to make – would Red Mist come back, or something else.

My Mother had no idea of what had taken place at the Penthouse – she just thought that it had been an accident and Dad had died in a goddamn fire – as if – it was a fucking bazooka, for fuck's sake!

Now, my return – it had to be big, to make an impact on the City and that fucking Kick-Ass and his bitch!

* * *

**_That afternoon  
Atomic Comics_**

"Hey, missed you at the weekend – where were you?" Todd asked.

I looked at Erika – we had talked about this.

"I had to go out of town with my folks, didn't get back till Sunday," Erika replied.

"I had some stuff to do, really wore me out, so I stayed home," I said.

"Cool! No problem – just thought that you guys might have been avoiding me, or doing something private, err, together!"

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

I had one hell of a headache and I wasn't exactly sure where I was – I looked around me.

I was on a bed – a bed! I hadn't felt a soft bed under me in weeks – that must have been why I actually felt better than I had in ages, apart from the headache of course!

Where was I? Why did I have the image of a naked girl imprinted on my mind and why was that image the last thing that I actually remembered? I tried to get up and found my hands bound in front of me – what the hell?

"Hey! Naked bitch – why the fuck am I tied up?" I yelled.

A few minutes later the door opened and I saw – purple!

"Aren't you a bit short to be a vigilante?" I tried

"What, you fucking cunt!" The short vigilante growled.

"Were you the one that I saw naked? Not too bad, I'll admit – rather hot too!"

"Shut up, err, cunt!"

"You are in deep trouble, boy!" A deeper voice then said and a much larger, and greener, vigilante appeared in the doorway and my bravado vanished. I now felt fear – I had heard of Kick-Ass, among the other people that I had met in the alleys of New York. That meant that the short, purple vigilante was the much feared Hit Girl. Despite her limited stature, many grown, hardened men were scared shitless of her capabilities! I was only thirteen, so I knew that I too, should be scared – but I was still alive and I had obviously intruded on their secret hideout, so they wanted me alive – should I be worried _why_ they wanted me alive?

"You know – you should be _very_ scared, right now! I don't like people who break into my Safehouse – I cut them to pieces and I start cutting off those pieces which they value the most!" Hit Girl growled.

I _was_ feeling fear and it was all I could do not to piss myself!

"I needed somewhere to stay – I have nowhere else. I found a damaged window downstairs and forced it – you know, you really should improve your security!"

"I'll take that under advisement, boy!"

I watched as Hit Girl removed something from her belt and I saw a brief flash of shiny metal and then I saw an extremely sharp Balisong, just inches from my face and I tried to push down into the bed and away from the blade.

* * *

I had a feeling that Hit Girl was enjoying herself, just a little bit too much and at the expense of this young boy who seemed to be shitting himself with fear – he obviously knew what we represented and what we were capable of.

"What is your name, boy?" I growled.

"Alexander Cramer – my friends call me Alex..." The boy replied with hope in his voice.

"Okay – Alex – I'm gonna stop fucking with you!"

I saw the Balisong move swiftly downwards and the boy started to scream.


	16. New Recruit

**_Safehouse C  
Tuesday_**

I thought that Hit Girl was about to carry out her threat, but the Balisong cut through my bindings, like they weren't there and my hands were freed.

I stared up at Kick-Ass and Hit Girl in surprise and saw that both of them were grinning at me.

"Oh that was really bloody amusing!" I said. "Fucking Yanks!"

"Sorry, kid! We needed to know that you were genuine and threatening to cut your, err, whatever off does tend to improve honesty!" Hit Girl said with a smirk. "Get up!"

I got up off of the bed and followed the two vigilantes into the large room that I had briefly seen, much earlier. I ran my eyes over all the weapons and other equally lethal objects arrayed across the walls. Hit Girl waved me over to a couch where I sat down. She leant against a table and just stared at me. Kick-Ass hovered behind her.

"Trying to imagine _me_ without my clothes on?" I asked facetiously.

Hit Girl quickly moved her eyes away from me.

"Not on your life, you little cunt!"

"I am adorable and totally irresistible!"

"Oh God – just what I need; another hormonal teenager!" Kick-Ass moaned.

"So, Alex – tell us your story," Hit Girl ordered, ignoring Kick-Ass.

..._...

"Okay... I came over to the US from the UK, back in twenty-twelve and I have been here since then. I came over with my Mother – we were looking for a fresh start, but that didn't quite work out. Originally, we lived in Philadelphia, but things started going wrong middle of last year and well, to cut a long story short, my Mother died and I ran; I didn't want to be taken into care. I came to New York, as nobody would know me here, plus I couldn't afford to go anywhere else! Pretty lame story – but that's me!"

Nobody said anything for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Alex – about you Mom," Hit Girl said and I got a nod from Kick-Ass. "Neither of us have our parents anymore – it's just us."

"Thanks."

"It _is_ hell being on your own, isn't it – you want to stay, _maybe_ \- join the team?" Hit Girl asked.

It took a while for what she had said to sink into my mind, which was flooded with memories of my Mother.

"You want me – to join – you?"

"You're not much to look at and a little scrawny, but I've had to train worse!" Hit Girl said, with a quick look at Kick-Ass.

Then Hit Girl turned deadly serious.

* * *

"You tell anybody about us – you say anything out of turn – you sell us out and I will gut you like a fucking fish!"

"I promise – I'll do anything that you say!"

"You'll do _anything_ that I say?

"Anything – within reason of course!" The boy said with an evil smirk!

"I should slap you stupid for that comment!" I growled, glad that my mask hid most of my blushes!

I looked up at Kick-Ass and he took a deep breath and nodded. We both pulled off our masks.

"Alex, I'm Dave and..."

"I'm Mindy!"

"Wow! You look just as hot with your clothes on!" Alex said, with a cheeky grin.

I had this sudden urge to cram my fist into his face, but decided not to – at least not right now!

* * *

**_That evening_**

The first thing that I did was walk the little shit downstairs and get him to show me how he broke in. Dave was able to secure the window properly, so it couldn't be reopened. I also managed to get the door lock to work properly too, but decided that we would need some upgrades to our security!

Then we had another problem.

"Well he's not fucking sleeping in _my_ room!" I growled at Dave.

"_I'll_ sleep on the couch, Mindy," I offered.

"He can't sleep there – he'll freeze!" Dave countered.

I actually considered moving into Dave's room, but then thought that that might not be a good idea - for, oh so many reasons!

* * *

"Dave, what are we gonna do with him?" I asked.

I was sitting on the end of Dave's bed, while Alex was taking a much needed shower. I had changed into my pyjamas and was intending on making sure that Alex was settled before I went to bed.

"He seems to like you!" Dave teased.

"Yeah – he likes me naked!" I growled.

"What are worried about – no offence, but there isn't all that much to see!"

"That's – I do – okay, you're right!" I admitted and felt myself blushing.

Dave was laughing!

"Funny, Ass-Kick! So, seriously – what do we do with the little shit?" I asked again.

"Do you want to let him stay here? Train him, maybe?" Dave asked.

"He could be useful – I don't want to dump him on the street. That just wouldn't be right..."

"Good call, Mindy!"

* * *

**_The following morning  
Wednesday  
Safehouse C_**

Alex was still fast asleep when I got up and went to get some coffee.

The boy must really have been knackered – he had slept quite a long time after I had clobbered him the day before. It also became clear that the kid had nothing much more than the clothes that he had arrived in. He had shown me what little he did possess, which included his British Passport that confirmed his identity to me, as well as his British Birth Certificate. Other than a few other personal possessions, he had nothing else.

I had discussed this with Dave and we had both decided that we would take him shopping and get him some new clothes and other stuff. I hoped Dave would be able to help with advice about what Alex needed, as I was having enough problems learning about teenaged girls, let alone teenaged boys!

Alex was not a bad looking kid and was a good four inches taller than me and had short brown hair and brown eyes. It also transpired that he was four months older than me. No I was _not_ attracted to him, as Dave had teasingly suggested – my attractions lay elsewhere...

By mid-morning, I had decided that he needed to wake up, so I threw a glass of cold water over his face – which got a really good reaction, followed by some really cool language – not to mention some swear words that I had never actually heard before!

* * *

**_New York City_**

She was actually being nice to me!

Well, apart from the way that she had woken me up, that morning at least! The three of us were heading into New York to do some shopping – apparently little Miss Vigilante didn't approve of my rather limited wardrobe.

I really hoped that I was doing the right thing by trusting these guys, but what other choice did I have – at least I would have a roof over my head and hot food to eat.

I was still trying to work those two out – were they in some form of a relationship? Dave must be around sixteen, while Mindy was thirteen – I knew because she had told me. If they weren't in a relationship, then maybe I stood a chance with Mindy; then again, maybe I'd better take things slowly!

* * *

**_Later that afternoon  
Safehouse C_**

"You had better be worth it, you little fuck!" I growled.

I had just spent almost a thousand dollars that afternoon, mostly on _him_!

"Thank you, Mindy and you Dave. You're the first people that have given a shit about me, in months," Alex said.

"No problem, Alex. It's what we do – we help people; just don't make me regret it!"

"I won't – I promise!"

That was when Chloe appeared.

..._...

"Whoa, how many hot girls am I going to be seeing?" Alex commented, eyeing up Chloe.

"Not many more if you keep looking at me like that; I'll poke your goddamned eyes out!" Chloe replied casually.

"Feisty – I like!"

Chloe just glared at Alex and then turned to give me and Dave a questioning look.

"Who's the annoying fuck?" Chloe asked.

"Chloe, meet Alex – we seem to have, err, adopted him!" I said with a laugh.

"Oh dear!" Chloe commented, looking Alex up and down.

* * *

"Err, Dave – she's smiling at me; should I be worried?" Alex asked.

"Probably!" I replied.

"Is she going to hurt me?"

"Probably!"

"Why; what did I do?"

"Well you saw her naked and, oh yeah, you broke into her Safehouse – but mainly you saw her naked!" I replied with a laugh.

"He saw you naked, Mindy?" Chloe enquired.

"Long story – tell you later!" Mindy growled and then turned her attention back to the boy.

"Got any bruises, kid?" Mindy asked.

"Not really... Don't want any either!" Alex said quickly, catching Mindy's drift.

..._...

Mindy was a blur, but after thirty seconds Alex was on his back, with blood on his face.

"That fucking hurt you fucking bitch!" Alex said, grimacing with the pain and I was sure that there were tears in his eyes, but he was putting a brave face on in front of the two girls.

"Still wanna stay, brat!" Mindy taunted, pulling Alex back to his feet.

"Yes, dammit!" Alex replied.

"Go easy on him, Mindy – no broken bones!" I said.

"I won't hurt him that bad -," Mindy started, but she was cut off as Alex drove his right fist at her and she barely caught the movement out the corner of her eye

Mindy started to move out of his way, but not far or fast enough and the boy's fist caught her just below her left eye and Mindy went flying sideways and hit the mat hard, before rolling onto the floor.

"Fucking hell!" Chloe announced, with both hands over her mouth.

"Mindy!" I yelled and ran over to her.

Alex just stood there, staring at Mindy's prone form.

..._...

"Mindy, are you okay?" I said rolling her onto her back.

She looked up at me, but her left eye was a little swollen and she was grimacing with the pain. Alex and Chloe came up beside me. Mindy glared at Alex.

"Not bad, kid – you've got a powerful punch there! That'll teach me to underestimate weedy little shits!"

I helped Mindy to stand up and she swayed a bit as she got her balance. Chloe held out an icepack from the fridge, which Mindy placed on her swollen cheek, along with a few choice swear words!

"I'm really sorry Mindy – I didn't mean to hit you that hard, or to blind side you," Alex said, looking worried.

"Don't worry; you did very well – I'll recover; I've had much worse, believe me!" Mindy said, smiling at the boy. "You have potential!"

"Maybe I should start taking you seriously, Alex!" Chloe commented with a smirk.

"I'm a very likeable guy, please ignore my thoughts that sometimes spill out of my mouth without my realising it!" Alex said.

"Oh well, what's another nut job in _this_ place?" Chloe asked rhetorically.

* * *

**Author's Note:** _My combined stories have just broken the 500,000 word mark – half a million words; cool!_


	17. The Good Doctor

**_The following day  
Thursday  
Safehouse C_**

We had a problem – a big problem that involved the boy.

"He needs a doctor, Mindy!" Dave had insisted.

"You sure?"

"Goddammit, Mindy! The kid can't stand, he won't eat thanks to his sore throat and he's running one hell of a temperature! It's probably something he picked up off the street and it's only now caught up to him."

"Call Chloe? We can't take him anywhere!"

* * *

**_The home of Chloe Bennett_**

"Mom!"

"Yeah, Chloe!"

"I need your help – well somebody else does; he's ill! It's difficult, but you've got to promise to keep it a secret!"

"What have you done, Chloe?" Dr Bennett asked sternly.

"I'll explain later – just get your, err, stuff and I'll show you where to go..."

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

The door clicked open and Chloe ran in, followed by a woman with a black case.

I just pointed at the door to the bedrooms and the woman went through to the bedroom where Alex was lying under a blanket. Dr Bennett seemed to ignore the, way out of the ordinary, room decoration and got straight down to business.

"When did this start?"

"He started feeling unwell last night, but by this morning he couldn't stand and his temperature had shot up!" Dave said.

"Out! Let me check him over – what's the boy's name?"

"Alex!" Dave said, as Dr Bennett closed the bedroom door behind him.

..._...

Forty minutes later Dr Bennett reappeared.

"Okay! What's the story?" Dr Bennett said, gazing around the Safehouse and taking in all the weapons, before focussing on her daughter, who seemed to shrink into the couch.

"Alex has been living on the streets; at least till a couple of days ago," Dave explained.

"What is all this? How are _you_ involved, young lady?" Dr Bennett asked, glaring at Chloe.

"It's not her fault, Dr Bennett!" I said quickly.

"Oh and who are you?"

"I'm Mindy and this place is a secret – Chloe said that we could trust you!"

"I gave Chloe my word that I wouldn't say anything – what is it that you do?"

"We fight for those that cannot fight for themselves!"

"Vigilantes?"

"Yes!" Dave said.

"You can't be much older than Chloe..."

"I'm not; but Chloe's been helping me – I've, err, led a rather sheltered life..."

"I see – I think! The boy has flu, worse case than normal but with care he'll be fine – keep him drinking. Have you two had your flu injections?"

"No – not this year..."

..._...

Two painful jabs later, Dr Bennett closed up her case.

"I'll come back tomorrow night – can you look after him?"

"For now..."

"Let me see what I can do – I don't agree with what you are doing, not one hundred percent; but I won't turn you in, either."

"Thank you, Dr Bennett, for all your help – you've got a great girl for a daughter!" Dave said.

"She does tend to do the right thing from time to time! I'll see you lot tomorrow night – after dark!" Dr Bennett said with a grin, as she left.

* * *

**_The following evening  
Friday  
Safehouse F_**

That day had lots happening – good stuff and some weird stuff!

Dr Bennett came back and checked on Alex; he was doing okay, but needed somewhere better than here to get better, so Dr Bennett suggested that she take him home with her and keep an eye on him for a week or so – till he was better. She also suggested that Chloe could help look after him...

"Like hell! I'm not gonna run around after _him_!"

Anyway, Alex and Chloe are now out of the way, which is good, as Dave and I had a mystery to solve – a mystery that my Daddy had initiated! Now that was a bit of a surprise, as my Daddy had been dead for near enough five months! To cut a long story short, I had been on the computer – doing things, never mind what – when a message popped up and it was a message from Daddy!

* * *

"Dave – come quick!" A rather panicky Mindy called.

I went over and she was pointing excitedly at something on the computer screen. It looked like an email. It started: '_My dearest Mindy... If you are reading this, then I am dead..._'

"How do you know that it is from Damon?" I asked, not actually believing that it could be from him.

"It has certain things in it that tells me it's genuine and from him – private things!" Mindy replied.

"Okay – 'baby doll'?"

"It's one of the things Daddy calls, err, called me..."

"Not quite the sort of thing I ever expected Big Daddy to say!"

"He wasn't Big Daddy when we were alone..."

"So, what does the message say?" I asked, not wanting to read anything personal and private.

"It seems that Daddy set this message up to be automatically sent to me after five months, if he did not stop it – he seemed to have added to it a few times before he died..." Mindy was starting to choke up a bit.

"I'll leave you alone if that helps," I suggested, walking away.

"No! Please stay with me – I can't do this on my own..."

"Okay, I'll stay," I said and sat down beside her. "I didn't want to intrude into anything private and personal."

"Dave – I keep nothing private from you – you are a very personal part of my life now. There is nothing here that I wouldn't want you to see."

"Okay!"

We both read through the message – skipping some of the more personal stuff.

'_... Life will be very difficult on your own... I hope that you are safe and that you are getting on well with Marcus..._'

"Well that never happened!" Mindy said.

'_... I know that you will be restless and may want to be Hit Girl again... I cannot advise you one way or another... That decision must be yours and yours alone... I have taught you many skills that will help you to survive, but there are also many life skills that I was unable to teach you... If you do put the costume back on and go out there, you will need backup – you CANNOT do it on your own, so don't even try..._'

"He's right there!" I said.

'_... It would normally be against my better judgement, but under the circumstances I could only recommend one person to help you out, at this point... Yes, he's borderline useless and damned incompetent, but his heart is in the right place and he could be an asset to you... Hopefully you can turn Ass-Kick around so that he isn't getting his 'ass-kicked' so much – Ha, Ha, Ha..._'

"That _still_ doesn't make sense!"

"That's one hell of a surprise!" I admitted.

"Daddy _did_ like you – he just kinda had a warped sense of humour and was worried about you having an effect on me!" Mindy said with a grimace. "I suppose I am a _bit_ surprised at the recommendation, but then who else is there!"

"Gee, thanks!" I said sarcastically.

"Dave – you are not _that_ Kick-Ass anymore; Daddy would be proud of you!"

"You think so?"

"Definitely!" Mindy said forcefully and with a smile.

I was still reading, when I found something.

'_... I was saving it till you were thirteen and hopefully when Frank D'Amico was no more, but you will need it now, as you grow up into a young lady..._'

"Lady! Who the hell is he trying to kid!"

"Hey, asshole! I _can_ be a lady!"

"Yeah – right! Look at this..."

'_... The house may not look like much from the outside, but it has everything that a young vigilante might need and will help you as you grow..._'

"A house!" Mindy exclaimed excitedly.

'_... Instructions for how to find and access the place can be found..._'

There followed instructions that seemed to be in some form of code. There was also much more written by Damon as guidance for Mindy – but for now we had what we needed.

"Daddy liked his codes! He taught me a couple of methods. I'll need to figure this out and then we'll know where we are going!"

"Okay – just keep yourself calm; you look like you might explode!" I said and got a glare in return, then a smile.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

We received a call from Chloe that morning. She told us that Alex was doing well – but also that he was 'fucking annoying' and could we come by and shoot him!

Mindy had managed to decode her Dad's initial instructions and we found that we had a mystery tour around New York to complete!


	18. Moving Up

**_Saturday morning  
New York City_**

We wrapped up warmly and caught a cab into the southern part of Manhattan.

Our first destination was Mosco St and Mott St. There, we were to retrieve a key. This took us about fifteen minutes in the prevailing traffic. We found ourselves in Chinatown and as the cab drove off Dave seemed very confused.

"What are we doing here?"

"Fuck knows!" I responded.

* * *

We walked up and down Mosco Street for almost fifteen minutes before Mindy suddenly stopped and dug her fingers into my arm.

"Ouch!"

"Up there!"

Mindy pointed up at a green fire escape.

"What?"

"There!" She whispered. "Under the rim of the fire escape – that's one of our, I mean Daddy's and mine – it's a dead drop. You see the small dark green container? It's magnetic – can you reach it?"

"Can't you?" I grinned.

"Okay, I'm fucking short – just grab the fucking container, cunt!" Mindy growled.

I reached up and seized the container, ripping it off the fire escape and swiftly pocketing it. I looked around; nobody seemed to have noticed. We walked down the street and crossed over Mulberry Street into Columbus Park, where we found a bench and sat down. I passed the container, stealthily, to Mindy.

"It's got a special catch," Mindy said fiddling with the container and finally opening it to reveal a quite ordinary looking key.

"What did Damon say that would fit?" I asked.

"A Post Office box, apparently," Mindy replied.

* * *

**_Fort Washington  
New York City_**

We caught a cab almost to the opposite end of Manhattan!

It took over forty-five minutes, but we finally climbed out of the cab in front of a Post Office and quickly found the relevant box. Inside, was a small envelope and another task!

"He liked his games!" I commented dryly.

"I told you that he could be a bit weird at times!" Mindy responded offhandedly.

* * *

**_630 West 168th Street  
New York City_**

Dave definitely looked far too happy as he walked towards me.

"What?" I growled.

"Damon definitely had a sense of humour – warped maybe, but still a sense of humour!" Dave replied.

I scowled at Dave.

"You know where I found this little container?" Dave asked with a grin, waving a similar container to that which we had found in Chinatown. He then laughed. "The department for children with psychotic and schizophrenic behaviour and other mental problems!"

"Okay – you are an asshole and so is Daddy!" Mindy groused, seizing the container from my hand.

* * *

**_Brooklyn_**

The house didn't look like much from the outside, but it seemed to be spread over quite a few floors.

I followed Dave up the concrete steps to the solid-looking front door, which seemed quite normal from this side. As expected there was a keypad recessed into the wall beside the door, covered by a small metal plate and hidden behind some plant life.

I took a deep breath and punched in the eight-digit code that Daddy had provided us – assuming that I had decoded it correctly!

..._...

On pressing the eighth digit we both heard a subtle electronic whirring and some mechanical clicking. I tentatively reached out and pushed the door, which opened and we moved into a dark hallway. I fumbled around and found a light switch – I didn't know what I had expected to see, but the hallway seemed almost normal, except that the door once closed, appeared to be fairly substantial and was most probably armoured! The same electronic and mechanical sounds we had heard before were repeated, as the door seemed to lock itself behind us.

The floor was tiled with small square ceramic tiles in a pleasant grey, while the walls were painted in an off-white colour. In front of us was a set of stairs going up and after these, on the left was a door that again seemed more solid than usual and had a code lock, too! I punched in the same eight-digit code and pulled open the heavy door to find a flight of steps going downwards – we'd check those out later!

..._...

At the end of the hallway was a door that led into a narrow, but very well equipped kitchen – the units were white and the worktops were a light grey marble. The kitchen was 'L' shaped and bent to the right ahead of us. At the apex of the 'L' was a large bay window with a door that presumably led outside. We couldn't actually see anything, as the windows and door had external steel shutters, which were currently closed. Dave identified the controls for the shutters, but we left them closed for now, relying on the lights.

The other leg of the 'L' was a breakfast room with a long wooden table that could comfortably seat six people. Everything was more than a little dusty, but otherwise clean. The floor was laid with large, light grey stone tiles. Twin, square arches led through into a comfortable room that had a real wood floor and an open fireplace. There was also a large dark leather couch and a pair of matching chairs. At the other end of this room was a large square arch, with a pair of wooden doors that led into another very similar room that would have looked out onto the street if the steel shutters had been raised. This room had a more comfortable looking leather couch and a large screen TV, as well as another open fireplace.

* * *

Two doors led out, one from each room into the hallway where we had come in. This floor of the house had seemed remarkably normal! What had I expected? We headed upstairs and came out onto a small hallway with a small bathroom at the top of the stairs and another set of stairs that went up. The door beside the small bathroom led into a large dining room, with a table that could comfortably seat six. To the left were twin, square arches as downstairs, which led into another 'L' shaped kitchen! This one had light blue units and white marble worktops. Large floor to ceiling windows, three of them, would look down on the back of the property, again, once the steel shutters were raised.

Back through the dining room, we found a room that was much more Damon! This room was equipped as a mini-Dojang and had a soft floor installed. Off of this room was a small room that held equipment relating to Taekwondo and the martial arts. Through this room we found ourselves back in the small hallway and started up the next staircase.

..._...

Here we found a corridor that led to a window that would overlook the alley beside the property. A door towards the back of the house led into the master bedroom suite, which was kinda disturbing – for Mindy, as it had cupboards that contained some of Damon's clothes and other personal effects. There was also an en-suite bathroom with both a bath and a shower. Across the corridor was a small hallway that led to a bathroom and two further bedrooms, one with a double bed and the other with a single bed. The bedroom that had a double bed was painted pink, with purple trim and purple curtains. That room was obviously intended for Mindy and seeing it set her off crying and she just stood there for quite a while, taking it in.

..._...

Finally, Mindy took a deep breath and we went up to the top floor. This seemed to be Damon's office and had a large drawing desk and some comfortable chairs and the usual pair of computers! There was also a pair of glass doors which appeared to open onto a small roof terrace.

We descended three sets of stairs and found ourselves at the locked door, beside the first floor kitchen. I punched in the code again and we went down the stairs and found ourselves in an almost identical hallway. At the end of the hallway were some floor to ceiling doors that covered a laundry, with two large washing machines and two dryers.

"Your Dad was practical!" I quipped and Mindy laughed.

..._...

The first door was obviously armoured and had another code lock. Mindy punched in the code and the door clicked and we pushed it open.

"Wow! I knew Daddy had other weapons, but never knew where!" Mindy exclaimed in awe at the weapons that were arrayed around the walls. There were also work benches in the centre of the room for weapons maintenance. The only other room on the floor was empty, but there was also a bathroom.

There was one door left, which seemed to go out the back of the house. This door was very solid, like the front door and when we turned the handle we could hear the same electronic and mechanical noises as the door unlocked.

We walked through into a car garage; the light's came on automatically. There was space for at least two vehicles and there was also a large workbench equipped with the usual toolboxes full of tools required for vehicle maintenance. At the far end was a steel door, which we assumed exited onto the alley behind the property.

* * *

During the entire tour, we had barely talked – the place was amazing and moving at the same time.

"Are you okay, Mindy?" I asked as we made our way back to the first floor.

"I think so," Mindy replied, quietly.

"You wanting to move in?" I enquired delicately.

"I must. Daddy would have wanted me to and I need to face up to the fact that he is gone and I shouldn't go to pieces every time that I come across something of his!"

"You want to stay tonight?"

"Yes, please – you, too?"

"I go, where you go!"


	19. The First Night

**_That night  
Saturday_**

**_The House_**

We had grabbed the essentials from Safehouse C, before returning to 'The House', as we seemed to be calling it!

What did bug me, though, was the fact that the house was just two miles south of Safehouse C! Damon had sent us all over fucking Manhattan – I bet he was having a damn good laugh about _that_ right now! I was a little concerned about Mindy, primarily her mental state – well, I was always concerned about her mental state! After all, she _was_ a teenager that enjoyed killing people in ever increasingly creative and violent ways! What concerned me right now was that she had been rather subdued since we had returned to the Safehouse and I sensed that she was going through the death of Damon, all over again.

So far, we had not told anybody else about the house, so we would not be disturbed and it would give time for Mindy to get herself settled in.

* * *

This was creepy.

I was very pleased with the house but it was what the house represented that felt creepy. Daddy had prepared this place for when we had completed the mission for which I had been prepared. I was in two minds about staying, or rather living here.

However, I could not allow Daddy's work to be in vain. I would just have to persevere and get over my issues. I knew that I could ask Dave, but I also knew that I would _not_ ask Dave – that would show weakness and I did not want to show weakness in front of Dave. I had done that before and yes, Dave had not rubbed it in and just pretended that it had never happened; Dave was too good to me!

I insisted that Dave take Daddy's room, while I took the room that Daddy had intended for me. I went to be feeling apprehensive, but fell asleep quickly as I was very tired after the day's activities.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

When I awoke, I was not alone.

Beside me, fast asleep, was Mindy. She was cuddled up under the duvet and she looked content, so I just lay back, and dozed. I had no idea when Mindy had come through to me, but I knew that she must have been upset. I also knew that she would probably wake up and pretend that this had never occurred and I would not push it.

About twenty minutes later, I felt Mindy stirring, and then she opened her eyes and stared up at me. Next, she looked around the room and groaned before driving her face into the pillow.

"Problem?" I asked.

"Just humiliation!" Mindy grumbled into the pillow.

I laughed.

"Believe it or not Mindy – you _are_ human!"

"Yeah, I know! It's just a little embarrassing waking up in your best friend's bed!" Mindy said, finally lifting her face out of the pillow.

"Life's a bitch, bitch!" I replied with a chuckle.

Mindy laughed.

* * *

After breakfast, we started sorting things out around the house.

The first thing we did was pack up everything that belonged to Damon. This did not take long, but it was tough on Mindy. I supposed that one good thing about all this, was that Mindy was becoming a little more open with her emotions – at least when it was just me.

A lot of the furniture had had sheets protecting them from the accumulated dust, so that helped with the tidying. We also raised the steel shutters, letting natural light into the house. Damon had really done a brilliant job on this place.

Mindy had found a cupboard in the second floor kitchen that when opened contained a large flat screen that showed images of the outside of the property as well as images of the garage, first floor hallway by the front door and the kitchen on the first floor where there was a door to the patio. There was also a control unit and when we were in the armoury, we had noticed that there was some video recording equipment. We played the recordings back and saw our own visit on the Saturday. That feature would be useful.

As we poked around, we had identified more of Damon's paranoia. There were small gun safes everywhere! One in the hallway, to the right of the front door, two in the first floor kitchen, one in the first floor living room, a larger one in the second floor kitchen and a much larger one in Damon's room; there was even a large one on the top floor near the roof-top patio! All were populated with at least one pistol, if not two. The larger cabinets had a minimum of two pistols and an MP5K, while the cabinet in Damon's room was equipped with assault rifles and body armour!

* * *

**_One week later  
Saturday morning_**

**_West 15th Street_**

"Cool!" Mindy exclaimed, craning her neck back and staring up the outside of the tall building.

It was definitely 'cool'! We had arrived at the New York City home of Chloe Bennett and her mother. This was also, where Alex had been staying for the past week, recovering from his illness. This was also the first time that we had seen either of them for the past week. We had talked over the phone, but nothing more.

Mindy had now sorted out her emotions and was ready for Alex to move into the house now he was healthy again. We headed up to the tenth floor and knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately, revealing a grinning Chloe.

"Come in!" Chloe almost yelled, grabbing Mindy in a bear hug.

"Put me down before I break every bone in your body!" Mindy growled good-naturedly.

Chloe laughed and dropped Mindy and then pulled her into the condominium. It was enormous and had large sloping windows on one side. Dr Bennett was sitting on a couch with Alex.

"Hi Alex!" I said. "You look a lot better!"

"Thanks, I _feel_ a lot better – Chloe helped!" Alex replied with a smirk and Chloe blushed.

"You two still fighting?" I asked.

"Chloe keeps her claws in now!" Dr Bennett replied with a chuckle that earned her a scowl from Chloe.

"I'm very impressed Dr Bennett, you have a great place here," Mindy said, still at a loss for words.

Mindy then walked over to the windows and spent a minute getting her bearings. Then she pointed off to the right.

"The D'Amico Penthouse – just a few blocks over there!" Mindy growled ominously.

I looked and was just able to see the ominous shape that I recognised from my flight in the jetpack. It was strange seeing the place again and a bit disturbing too – that place had been full of death and it had been where Mindy had almost died – twice!

* * *

Before we left Dr Bennett, we gave her the address of The House and impressed on her the need for secrecy.

Alex had acquired some extra clothes and personal effects, during his stay with the Bennetts, so we had packed this up and headed home – to the _new_ home.

"Now this is one hell of a nice place, Mindy!" Alex exclaimed once Mindy had shown him around the house.

"Thanks, Alex – that means a lot!" Mindy replied, almost blushing and very pleased.

Alex was very happy with his new bedroom and loved the house. Mindy used Alex to give the mats on the second floor, a thorough test that she found very amusing, although I am not sure that Alex did!


	20. Swipe With Disaster

**_Six weeks later  
Friday_**

**_The House_**

It was the middle of April and still rather cold.

However, the house was warm, cosy and comfortable. The past six weeks had been spent training and learning. We had not been out as vigilantes in quite a while, but we now had a mission. Mindy had beaten Alex black and blue in her efforts to toughen the kid up and train him. I had to give the boy credit, he took the blows and listened to what Mindy was telling him – he took criticism surprisingly well considering that the phrases that came out of Mindy's mouth could be just as painful as her fists!

Chloe had spent time with us too and Mindy had enjoyed pounding her into the mat along with Erika and poor Marty. Marty was doing well, but was way behind the others – not surprisingly! I had learnt a lot too and had landed some good hits on Mindy several times, but I was always careful not to hurt her - too badly.

Chloe had felt that she was not ready yet to take the next step and become a vigilante – she seemed to have some reservations, but Mindy insisted that we should not push Chloe and that Chloe would know when she was ready.

..._...

Alex now had his own suit, which was a smaller version of mine and whereas mine was green and yellow; his was predominantly dark blue with lighter blue highlights. Mindy had laughed when he had first put the suit on, but I had to admit he looked menacing – kind of.

"Hey, short-ass! You looked in the fucking mirror, recently!" Alex had retorted.

Mindy had equipped Alex with a pair of Glock 26 pistols, just like the ones that she used. He had proved himself an accurate shot, which had both surprised and annoyed Mindy! He also carried a shortened riot baton for additional protection. Alex's suit had an embossed 'S' on the top left of his chest plate.

The 'S' stood for _Swipe_, which was to be his new superhero name.

* * *

We would be going out for the first time that night and we geared up at Safehouse C.

I was going out on my own motorcycle, so that Swipe could ride behind Kick-Ass. I was looking forward to this – for the first time we would be a team of three! Our first stop was a part of Brooklyn that should be a challenge, but not overly dangerous.

"Now, asshole! You follow every instruction to the fucking letter – understood!" I said to Swipe, who nodded.

The kid looked very apprehensive and more than a little scared. Fear was good – it helped your mind focus. I expected him to make mistakes – Kick-Ass did his first _and_ second times out, but I would try to guide him and above all, I would keep him safe.

..._...

We walked down the alley, making as little noise as possible. I was in front, with Swipe behind me. Kick-Ass was following up in the rear and watching our backs. In front of us were three men, all facing away from us and gazing into a blazing oil drum.

Once I got to within a couple of feet, I swept their feet out from under them and waited for them to respond.

"What the fuck?"

"Who the hell did that?"

"Oh fuck me!"

"Not a chance!" I growled and stared down at the three men.

They looked me up and down and then at my small stature.

"Fuck off, before you get hurt!" The man in the centre advised and started to get up.

I wouldn't move, if I were you!" Kick-Ass said, waving a baton in the man's face.

"Kick-Ass?"

"He's a fucking pussy!"

Kick-Ass kicked the man on the left in the face. The man screamed, as blood exploded from his smashed nose.

"Fuck!"

"Who the fuck's next?" Kick-Ass growled menacingly.

Wow – The 'pussy' had an attitude! I was – what – I had a strange feeling in my stomach, just above... Oh, Fuck! I shook myself – get your fucking head in the game, Hit Girl!

"Night guys! Thanks for the chat!" I growled and we all walked off down the alley, leaving three very shocked individuals.

..._...

"You okay, Swipe?" I asked. He was looking a little bit pale.

"You broke his nose!" Swipe said, looking at Kick-Ass.

"So – he mouthed off!"

"That is what we are doing – we are making sure that these cowardly, scummy, criminal pieces of shit, know that Hit Girl and Kick-Ass are to be feared!" I explained.

"You still onboard, kid?" Kick-Ass asked.

"Yeah – I'll be fine!" Swipe said, but he did not look it.

I exchanged glances with Kick-Ass and he nodded. We had talked about how we would operate tonight. The first phase was done – instil fear, but leave them alive to spread the word. Now phase two could begin – show them what we were capable of, how far we would go! I didn't think that Swipe would be too pleased with this next phase, but I needed to know if he should be part of this.

It would be better for him to quit now than risk other people's lives later.

* * *

**_A few miles northeast_**

We dismounted from the motorcycles and covered them up. I was really enjoying my new motorcycle; it was awesome! I would definitely need to go out more.

"Swipe – stay behind me at all times; we are escalating – you may need to use your pistols," I explained gently.

The boy nodded his acceptance, but he looked terrified.

"You'll do fine, okay!" I said and smiled.

The smile that I received in return was a forced one.

Well, that was that – the decisive moment.

..._...

I stepped into the alley and announced my presence.

"Howdy, cunts!"

Then... Oh, fuck! I expected gunfire – but oh fuck! It was like the fucking shootout in Heat! I dived behind a convenient dumpster, pulling Swipe with me. I knew that Kick-Ass would find his own cover.

"Keep your fucking head down kid," I yelled as the bullets flew. The kid was physically shaking and he grabbed my right arm and held on tight.

"Get off!" I yelled as I tried to reach my pistol, but Swipe hung on tight so I had no choice but to punch him in the face with my left hand and he fell back with a scream.

I pulled a pistol and emptied a magazine at the shooters. Kick-Ass was doing the same on the other side of the alley.

"Fuck this!" I yelled and holstered my pistol and pulled my Heckler &amp; Koch MP5K around and started sending three-round bursts down the alley, accompanied by periodic screams.

Bullets were hitting the dumpster. Swipe was scurrying around, trying to avoid the metal shards that flew from the dumpsters, then the idiot went and stood up and received two rounds in his chest armour and I heard him scream and fall backwards.

So far, we had dropped a few shooters, but I couldn't see much – mental note: we needed NVGs! I felt Swipe behind me, exactly where I had told him to be, but I had no time for him right now.

"Stay here, in cover and stay the fuck down!" I yelled and he nodded.

"I'm going in!" I yelled to Kick-Ass, he nodded, and I saw that he had started using his MP5, too.

I pulled my bō-staff around, and then passed my MP5K to Swipe.

* * *

I was shaking, I had blood running down my face from my nose and my chest was on fire – otherwise I was good!

Hit Girl had thrust her sub-machine gun into my hands and then she had flexed her bō-staff – she looked damned awesome with that weapon! I concentrated on keeping my head down, but also following Hit Girl.

She ran forward, dodging the gunfire and put a foot onto a wooden crate and flipped through the air and as she went, she swept her bō-staff to her left, the outstretched arms of one man just seemed to drop to the ground, and blood spurted out of the severed stumps. As she landed, she severed one leg of another man, then span around and drove a blade into the man's chest. Immediately she withdrew her blade and moved on and I could swear that she was smiling.

"Holy fuck!" I muttered and was transfixed by both the scarlet blood flying and the darting purple figure.

She moved faster than any of the men could react and drove the razor sharp blade of one or the other end of her bō-staff into the chests of men as she passed. Bodies, or parts of bodies, were falling all around and then it was all over. I had never seen so much blood – except in the movies! I was appalled and one phrase was going around in my head: 'What the fuck?'

I watched as Kick-Ass walked forward, his MP5 behind his back and a pistol in his right hand. A shot rang out and Kick-Ass stumbled back, but he resisted the inertia of the bullet and double-tapped the man who had fired at him.

* * *

There was a man, crawling away.

He heard us approach and rolled onto his back.

"Please..."

"Swipe, come here!" I ordered and the boy came forward, somewhat hesitantly.

"This man is yours!" I said and took the MP5K from him.

Swipe drew a pistol with his right hand and aimed it at the wounded man, as he lay helpless on the concrete floor of the dark alley. The pistol was shaking and so was his hand, and then I noticed, so was the rest of him.

Swipe pulled the trigger twice...

..._...

The man on the ground breathed a sigh of relief. The boy had missed, most likely on purpose – he was not ready for this. I raised my pistol in one smooth motion and without a second's hesitation; I blew the man's head apart with four rounds.

Swipe just stood there as the blood, brains and bone sprayed across the concrete of the alley. I took the pistol from his hand, placed it into his holster, and then led him away from the scene of carnage. Kick-Ass followed and I noticed that this was not the frightened Kick-Ass from Rasul's apartment – this was a new breed of Kick-Ass; it was Kick-Ass 3.0!


	21. Fallout

**_Friday evening_**

**_The House_**

We had dropped off the motorcycles and our equipment at the relevant Safehouse and made our way home.

Dave checked Alex over for injuries and apart from a mammoth bruise on his chest and a bloody nose – he was okay. Alex had barely said a word since getting back home. Dave suggested, strongly, that we all get some sleep and go over things in the morning.

I had only been in bed about an hour when I heard a gentle knocking on my door. It had to be Alex – Dave didn't usually knock!

"Come in Alex," I said quietly.

Alex pushed open the door and came in.

"Sorry to disturb you, Mindy. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to talk... If now isn't good I'll go..."

Alex had obviously been crying; his eyes were very red and he looked miserable. This was my fault, so I had to try to fix it. I waved Alex over to my bed and I sat up. I was only wearing my underwear and Alex would normally have made some sarcastic or obscene comment, but he didn't seem to notice, which showed that he was not kidding around.

"Alex, I'm sorry I put you in that position – I shouldn't have..."

"It's okay Mindy – I know what you were trying to do, but I wasn't up to your standards and I apologise for that," Alex replied.

"No Alex. You saw things tonight that no kid should see. I first saw things like that, when I was seven and it scared the shit out of me. Daddy eased me into the blood and guts thing – I just dropped you right in the middle of it, which to my mind would be a good laugh – but I didn't stop to think about the consequences of that. I mean, when Dave first saw me in action with my bō-staff he was shocked and stunned – just like you were, not to mention that I was showing off, just a little!"

"Yes – I noticed that you seemed to be enjoying yourself!" Alex said, dryly.

I actually felt a little embarrassed by that comment!

Alex looked directly at me before speaking again. "I wanted to shoot that man – I wanted to show you that I could do it... I let you down and I'm sorry!" Alex said.

"Alex – you have nothing to be sorry for. I..." I began.

"But..."

"Don't interrupt. I'm going to tell you something that nobody else knows, not even Dave. The first time that I was supposed to kill a man, I froze and that was from a distance, with a sniper rifle. The second time was right up close, face to face, but my hands shook so bad that Daddy finished the man off for me. I was devastated – I felt like I had let my Daddy down, _twice_! He gave me two more opportunities, but I fucked them up, too – I was scared that I would never become a superhero, like my Daddy!"

"I can't believe that Hit Girl froze!" Alex said.

"At that point I wasn't Hit Girl. I was just a silly little girl that was doing her best to please her Daddy – he turned it into a game; but I'm not going to make that mistake with you. I'm not going to sugar-coat it and make it look like being a vigilante is safe and fun!"

"I'm pleased you are doing it like that – it gives me a chance to think things through properly."

"Right, kid. It's time for us to get some sleep!" I announced and saw the expression on Alex's face.

He was scared to go to sleep, scared of the nightmares that he might have. I'd been there – more than once!

"You want to sleep here tonight?" I asked and saw relief on Alex's face.

Alex nodded.

"This is not an invitation to 'sleep with me', as in sex! So don't get any fucking ideas and if your hands wander – I'll cut them off!" I cautioned, trying to cheer the boy up a bit.

Unfortunately, my attempt failed; I got a weak smile in return, but that was that! I pulled back the duvet so Alex could climb in and then I turned over and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

When I awoke, it was almost lunchtime.

The first thing that I did was check on Alex, but his bed was empty. I went to see if Mindy was awake and was rather surprised by what I saw! Alex was in bed with Mindy, although they were both facing away from each other, with a good foot of space between them. I turned to leave, when I heard a voice.

"Make a snarky comment and I will fucking floor you!" Mindy growled.

"I wasn't gonna say a word!" I replied with a grin.

"No – we didn't fuck!" Mindy said, as she climbed out of the bed.

I raised both hands up, defensively. "I never said anything! I assume he slept badly in his own bed and wanted to talk."

"Yeah. It was my fault. I pushed him too far, last night and exposed him to stuff _way_ too early – go on say it..." Mindy prompted.

"No Mindy, you did what you thought was right."

"You warned me that my plan might backfire on me – and it did! So you're supposed to say: I told you so!"

"Mindy, if I said that every time then I'd never get to say anything else!" I teased.

"Ass!" Mindy called as she headed for the bathroom.

* * *

I felt a little better when I woke up.

Mindy was gone and I had the bed to myself. I remembered the night before. Mindy had told me things that she had never told Dave – that meant she trusted me and I felt bad about what had happened in the alley.

I pushed back the duvet and looked down at my chest – it was black, blue, and still very sore. I got out of bed and went to get dressed.

* * *

"Hi Alex – you feeling better?" I asked.

"Thanks Dave, I do feel better – amazing what a night in bed with Hit Girl can achieve!" Alex quipped with a mischievous grin and a smug look at Mindy.

I watched as Mindy scowled, but smiled innocently. Alex seemed back to normal – at least his sense of humour was.

"So, is Mindy good in the sack then?" I teased and Mindy blushed – badly!

"She moves around a lot and tends to kick at times, but I survived!" Alex said.

"You two are fucking evil!" Mindy commented, going back to her cereal.

* * *

Okay, I admit it; I fucked up with Alex by taking him into that second alley.

If he had been killed or badly injured, I would have been devastated! Why had I been so goddamned stupid? I looked up as Dave came into the living room where I was sitting. He came over and sat beside me.

"You're beating yourself up about this, aren't you?" Dave enquired.

"Is there any point in trying to deny it?" I replied, forcing a smile.

"You made a mistake; you're only human, Mindy!"

"I know – but Hit Girl is not supposed to make mistakes and this mistake almost killed a thirteen year-old boy!"

"Mindy... I – you made a mistake and you've recognised that you made a mistake – so learn from it and move on, kid!"

"Thanks Dave!" I said and smiled properly this time.

"Plus, I'm sure Alex enjoyed the sack time!"

I felt myself blushing!

"Fucking asshole!"

* * *

We sat down, the three of us, and talked through each minute of the night before and discussed alternative strategies.

This finally put my mind at rest, but I swore to myself that I would not put anybody at risk in such a way again. Chloe, Marty and Erika would be trained without being put into a life-threatening situation like that.

I had to admit that Alex's behaviour had been better than I could have hoped. He was definitely brave and had the brains to think. Yes, he stood up and he was shot, but that was Alex doing his best to control his panic and the basic human instinct to run.

I thought that Alex would do fine!

* * *

I was actually glad that I had broken into that building all those weeks ago.

My life had improved immeasurably. Yes, I was living with a complete nutcase – Mindy and a geek, Dave. Nevertheless, it could be a lot worse and I could have died from the flu! Well, the flu didn't kill me and neither did Mindy's antics in the alleyway – what is it they say? What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger!

Now, that night in bed with Mindy had been interesting – but I would much prefer to have been in bed with Chloe!


	22. The Void

**_Four weeks later_**

**_The House_**

"Hey brat!"

"I assume you mean me!" Alex replied with a smirk.

"Well, Dave is not a 'brat'!"

"Sorry, your purpleness!"

"Fuck, you can be so annoying!"

"Is that even a word?" Dave asked Alex.

"No idea!" Alex grinned.

"Pay attention, if you want to go out again – your bruises are healed, so unless you want more, watch what I'm doing!"

We had been sparring all morning. I was teaching Alex how to avoid getting into fights that he could not win and most importantly how to get out of fights when you were losing! The kid did not like showing weakness and he saw backing away from a fight as a weakness. I had to explain to him that running away allowed you to fight another day – which you could _not_ do if you were dead!

Alex had come a long way over the past few weeks and I was very pleased with him. Dave was improving and was properly using his height and strength to his advantage. I was showing Alex how to reply on his speed and manoeuvrability to get out of trouble, as I did. I also showed him that relying on his weapons too much could also backfire on him, if he lost them in a fight.

You had to hit hard and fast on the first go. Coming around for a second shot once your target was aware of your presence was not a wise move, especially if he was bigger than you were!

"Now – one thing to remember," Dave said, with a smirk in my direction. "Always keep your back to the wall!"

I glared at Dave, while Alex looked at me strangely.

"Am I missing something?" Alex asked curiously.

"Dave – _not one word_!" I warned knowing that Dave would just ignore me completely.

..._...

Dave sat down on the mat and indicated that Alex should do the same. I sat down too, knowing that I had no choice but to endure what was about to come out!

"At this point I had never met Mindy, let alone Hit Girl..." Dave started.

"Okay..." I interrupted. "Dave first met me when I was twelve and I was a bit of a show-off. I saw what I did as a kind of 'game'. Dave, or rather a very inexperienced Kick-Ass, got himself into a bit of a situation and was about to be killed, so I stepped in to help him. For some reason, I thought he had potential and I was right, as it turned out."

"Anyway... I was shitting myself and then suddenly Rasul, the owner of the apartment stopped advancing on me; he had a blade sticking out of his chest! The blade was removed, Rasul fell and I saw Hit Girl for the very first time - a very short Hit Girl! You wanna say it?" Dave asked, smiling.

"Why not... I stared down at Kick-Ass and the people in the apartment, before saying: '_Okay you cunts... Let's see what you can do now_'," I growled. Alex seemed to be enjoying the story.

"Creepy!" Dave admitted. "Then, Little Miss Assassin proceeded to slaughter everybody there, about six or seven people, using her bō-staff and a Balisong: '_Hey, I got one of those_'!"

I laughed at Dave's impression of me.

"Yeah... The little bitch smiled her way through the entire slaughter. She was like a damn Angry Bird, bouncing around the apartment, killing everything in sight and all the time showing off to me! Then her perfect plan came apart and she almost got killed, while commenting on my choice of Taser, except Big Daddy used his sniper rifle to kill the last man and then she got a mini lecture from Daddy!" Dave said, smirking at me.

I closed my eyes and remembered that night.

_"'Now Hit Girl, we always keep our backs where?'_" I said aloud slowly and quietly. "'_To the wall Daddy, I know. Um, it... it won't happen again. Nice shot, by the way'_."

"Sorry, if I brought back old memories," Dave said.

"No, it's okay – I like to remember Daddy," I replied before turning to Alex. "So you see, even Hit Girl can fuck up too if you let your situational awareness slip, or get distracted by green vigilantes!"

"Thanks for telling me that," Alex said.

"Everything we teach you is crucial to what we do and in a lot of cases learnt the hard way!" Dave said.

Alex grinned.

"Are there any more embarrassing stories?" He asked.

"Oh plenty!" Dave replied and I glared at him. "But not for today, Alex. Mindy can only take a certain amount of humiliation before she starts to get a little bit ratty!"

"Oh yeah – been there!" Alex replied.

Why do I put up with this shit?

* * *

Chloe, Marty and Erika had heard about Alex's first night out and were a little shocked, to put it mildly!

Mind you, I think Alex enjoyed having the two girls worry over him and he insisted on showing them his bruises, which had Chloe blushing. Mind you, the girls the managed to get Alex blushing too!

Mindy had a problem – nothing bad, just growing up.

"Dave, this suit is getting tight. I'm gonna have to get a bigger one!"

"You're growing up kid – it happens!"

It turned out that it was not just her suit, which had required replacing, either. Mindy had been rather shy and more than a little embarrassed by the fact that she had needed to buy quite a lot of new clothes. She had broadened out, quite a bit, in the hips and she definitely now had a chest – not quite Mount Kilimanjaro, but not the average bumps in the road, either!

Luckily, Dr Bennett had been able to come to the rescue. Chloe had also required some new underwear, as she seemed to be growing too; Dr Bennett had therefore taken the girls shopping.

..._...

On their return, their new acquisitions had led to an impromptu twenty-minute underwear show for Alex and me. The two girls thought it great fun to show off their new underwear and some of the other clothes that they had bought! Both girls giggled and blushed throughout the whole thing and Alex just sat there with his legs crossed and his eyes almost popping out. Once the girls were dressed again, Alex had quickly vanished off to the bathroom and the boy looked very pleased with himself, when he had returned a short while later.

* * *

Mindy and I had been reading some more of Damon's letter.

In the section of the letter we read, Damon warned us of a possible consequence of getting rid of Frank D'Amico. In the criminal world, like nature itself – when there is a vacuum, something will move in and fill it. In this case, another mob-boss would be expected to take over from Frank D'Amico and he could be far worse than the man we had removed. Damon went on to warn us that this was probably inevitable, but he advised that the sooner we were able to hit them, before they were properly settled into their new empire, the better.

* * *

It was time to find out what was going on in the City and more precisely, _who_ was running the larger criminal element.

We had succeeded in getting ourselves 'known' out on the streets and the names of Kick-Ass and Hit Girl had spread around the streets and alleys of New York City – not to mention the new vigilante: Swipe. Criminals had been talking about the three vigilantes, both with awe and fear. Now, everybody knew about Kick-Ass, thanks to his YouTube videos and some had figured out who Hit Girl was from the internet video and the few seconds of her in action, but Swipe was a complete unknown and so really was Hit Girl – except for her reputation.

However, despite Swipe being shot, we had accomplished our mission and we now had an enviable reputation. Most criminals would now run rather than fight us. We would also be taken seriously, despite my obvious height limitation! The serious criminals also now knew that we were prepared to kill and would do so to accomplish our missions.

* * *

**_Saturday night_**

The three of us were high up on an apartment building, gazing down on the City below us.

I was pleased with how the night had gone to this point for two reasons. Reason one: the first group of scum that we had come across had turned out to be a prime example of how successful our last outing a month ago had gone.

The alley had been dark, but several men had been talking loudly with the help of numerous cans of beer.

"Howdy boys!" I growled.

Nobody seemed to have heard me, or at least the men were not paying any attention to me. It took Kick-Ass to get any acknowledgement.

"It is not polite to ignore a lady!" Kick-Ass growled. His growl was getting good too!

Two of the men turned, half-heartedly and they did a classic double take.

"Oh, fuck me – I'm out of here!" One yelled and ran down the alley away from us.

"It's that fucking purple bitch!"

"She's the fucking devil that's who!"

"She'll kill you soon as look at you!"

The alley was empty in mere fucking seconds! I smiled at Kick-Ass, who nodded in return and even Swipe looked pleased. I took everything that the men said as compliments! The other reason – Swipe was no longer a virgin.

Now do not get any ideas that he had managed to 'get off' with somebody – I meant that he had killed his first criminal – two in fact!


	23. First Kill

**_That evening  
Saturday_**

**_New York City_**

We had heard a scream, a block over from where we were walking.

"Let's move!" I said and we turned and ran in the direction of the scream.

As we got closer, we could hear shouting and another scream. Then a gunshot, followed by another scream. We burst out onto the street to see a body lying on the sidewalk. We could see movement beside an alley. We were more cautious with our approach now. Kick-Ass was in the lead, with Swipe behind him while I covered the rear.

Just as we got close to the alley, a woman was shoved out, quite firmly so she stumbled into the street. She was followed by a man holding a pistol. The man never saw it coming, as Kick-Ass brought one of his batons down onto the man's right wrist. The sound of cracking bones could be easily heard and was followed by the man dropping the gun and screaming. There was another man in the alley who tried to run but I ran at him and kicked him hard enough in the back that he went sprawling onto the hard alley floor and smashed his face.

"My boy!" The woman screamed and collapsed beside the prone body on the sidewalk.

Kick-Ass knelt down and checked for a pulse – there was none and he shook his head sadly. The boy was only a year or so younger than Alex and myself.

"You are safe now – I'm sorry about the boy, but these two won't hurt anybody else!" I growled.

..._...

After calling 9-1-1, we relocated the two men to another alley and forced them to kneel on the concrete floor.

I had noticed that Swipe had not said a single word throughout all of this, but had followed my instructions to the letter. Something did not seem right about him, but I did not press it right then.

"You broke my fucking wrist you green fucker!"

"Think yourself lucky, asshole!" Kick-Ass replied angrily.

I watched as Swipe moved in front of the two men and gazed into their eyes. I saw him take hold of the butt of his pistol, but again thought nothing of it.

"You have messed with the wrong people – you'll die for this once I..." The other man with the bloody nose started.

I was about to respond, but was cut off.

"Who says you're getting out of this?" Swipe said, for the first time. His voice was almost a growl and I barely recognised it as coming from his mouth. "You killed a young boy – you don't deserve to live – I am not going to let you kill any more kids, you fucking cunts!"

The next few seconds were a blur, but they ended with two dead men – their brains spread across the alley and Swipe standing there, with his pistol held in both hands and aimed at the ground. He had fired two aimed shots, no more, no less.

* * *

We left the alley quickly.

Again, Swipe never said another word until we were back at the hidden motorcycles. Swipe turned to face me as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Hit Girl. I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't –"

I cut him off.

"You did nothing wrong, kid," I replied, simply and gave him a smile.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

I thought that I would feel something.

However, there was nothing, maybe pleasure – I had just killed two men without a thought. A single bullet into each head. The blood and brains exploded around the alley. I did not react like the last time that I had seen blood and brains spread before me.

I expected something. I expected to feel remorse. Maybe it was the adrenalin, which was now subsiding in my system. I had also expected Hit Girl to yell at me, but no.

Was I happy about killing those two men? I had no answer to that question.

* * *

I kept a close eye on Alex once we got back to the Safehouse.

He seemed to be in a confused state. He had not said much, since our return. I had watched as he had cleared his pistol and replaced it on the wall. He replaced the two, fired rounds in the magazine and replaced that in the relevant place.

Alex seemed to be on automatic as he removed his suit and then just seemed lost, as he sat down on the couch in just t-shirt and shorts. I knew what he was going through – I had been there myself, many years ago.

"Come on, Alex – get dressed and we can head home," I said kindly.

* * *

**_Two days later  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

I was worried about Alex.

He most definitely was not his usual self. He was generally morose and refused to be drawn into conversations. He spent a lot of time in his room, alone. He was not making jokes – which were usually at my expense! I tried provoking reactions from him, but got little more than a weak smile and him usually leaving the room.

Dave had told me that Alex was coping in his own way. Alex seemed to be sleeping; Dave and I had both checked on him during the night. We had both tried to talk to him, but he refused to talk about what had happened in that alley. As a consequence of our not knowing his current mental state, Dave and I had both agreed that he could not go out again, until he was back to normal.

I had one last card to play.

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

"Hi guys!"

"Hi Chloe – glad you could come," I replied.

"I'll do what I can," Chloe said and she headed upstairs to see Alex.

I hoped that Alex might open up to Chloe, at least enough so we could find out what was going on in his head. We could then take steps to help him.

* * *

I knocked on the closed door.

There was no response, so I gently eased the door open.

"Alex?" I called, tentatively as I went into the room.

Alex was sitting on his bed staring into nothing. I went and sat next to him. He did not acknowledge my presence, until I rested my hand on his leg.

"What do _you_ want?" Alex asked, pleasantly.

"Mindy and Dave are worried about you – and so am I."

"Why should any of you, give a shit about me?"

"What!" I exclaimed.

"I've let them down, all of you – I shouldn't have killed those men."

"Fucking grow some balls, Alexander!" I said nastily and I finally got a reaction from Alex as he turned and glared at me. "You killed two men who fucking deserved it, from what I heard. Mindy says that you did nothing wrong and she was proud of you."

Alex actually looked surprised by my outburst and what I had said, but did not say anything for two full minutes.

"Still – I don't think I belong here," Alex said sullenly.

"Oh fuck this!" I said and slapped Alex across the face.

Alex looked stunned. There was a lovely handprint on his left check, which was steadily glowing redder.

Then I saw tears in his eyes and they were not stopping.

* * *

Chloe had been upstairs for almost an hour and I was considering going upstairs, but Dave told me to wait.

Finally, I heard footsteps on the stairs and Chloe came into the living room, dragging Alex behind her. I noticed a red mark on his cheek and a shy smile on his face. It looked like Chloe had made some progress. Chloe also looked a little embarrassed. I looked at her with a curious, questioningly expression.

"I took a page from Hit Girl's book," she explained with a grin. "_'If all else fails – use violence'_!"

Dave laughed.

"It obviously worked!" I grinned back.

"Mindy, Dave – I'm sorry for my behaviour; I just had some things to work out – with Chloe's help," Alex said.

"As I said before, Alex. You've done nothing wrong. Nobody ever said killing was easy and your reaction just shows that you're human," I replied.

"She's right, Alex. She may be a foul-mouthed, short assed bitch but she knows what she's talking about – most of the time!" Dave added and he ignored my scowl, but I took it as a compliment anyways.


	24. Vengeance

**_Four days later_**

Things were now _very_ different.

Everything had gone to shit and I deeply regretted it.

Dave was not the guy that he was last week and I was worried that he never would be again. He had put the death of his father behind him, for now and was getting on with his life as the vigilante, Kick-Ass. Now it had all come back to the fore and it had changed Dave.

Irrevocably?

I sincerely hoped not!

* * *

**_Thursday_**

We were on a patrol.

Kick-Ass, Swipe and myself, were on foot having left the motorcycles hidden in an alley. We exited an alley and came across a very small crowd of – well, at first I was not really sure. They were wearing costumes and...

"Holy fuck!" Kick-Ass announced angrily. "It's _him_!"

"Who?" I asked a little confused.

I definitely was _not_ ready for Kick-Ass' response!

"_Red Mist!_" Kick-Ass growled.

I felt anger surge up inside of me as I had never felt before. _Red Mist_. That bastard had shot me _three fucking times_, blasted me out of a window and left me for dead. Then I was brought back to reality with a jolt.

..._...

"Can it be?" A voice called incredulously.

All eyes turned to face us and the small crowd parted so that a ninth person was visible. This man had a vicious smirk on his face as he walked towards us.

"Chris D'Amico!" Kick-Ass sneered.

"That is _not_ my name!"

"Red Mist?"

"That was my super_hero_ name – now I am a super_villain_ and my name is _The Mother Fucker_!"

I almost laughed and I saw Chris D'Amico scowl at my expression. Swipe was smirking too, but Kick-Ass; he was flexing his hands in anger! I should have been mad, as well; after all, this was the son of the man, who had killed my Daddy. This man had shot me – _three fucking times_ – I owed him, big time! However, I could not take the guy seriously. He was wearing, well, bondage gear made to look like a supervillain costume!

Kick-Ass did not seem to see the outlandish costume – he just saw the man – the man responsible for the death of my Daddy and…

"So, still hanging about with the purple bitch! She a good lay, eh, Kick-Ass! Bet she enjoys having you up her tight little..."

He stopped speaking as Kick-Ass sprang forward, drawing his batons and went to strike at 'Red Mist', 'The Mother Fucker' – whatever! I moved to provide cover for Kick-Ass, but the masked men in costumes moved to protect D'Amico.

"Hold on there, Kick-Ass!" The Mother Fucker suggested with a smirk. "I have a surprise for _you_..."

..._...

A man came forwards and he was dragging a struggling girl. The girl was bound with rope at her wrists and had tape over her mouth. She looked terrified. Then Kick-Ass gave the scene some meaning.

"Katie!" Kick-Ass exclaimed and the girl started struggling even more at the sound of Kick-Ass' voice.

My God – it was Katie, Dave's former girlfriend. Her family had all been killed and she had gone missing – months ago!

"I know things about you, Kick-Ass! I know how much you care for this girl and I know how much this will hurt you..."

D'Amico produced a large knife and as his minion pulled back on Katie's hair, D'Amico drew the blade across her throat. At first, there was just a thin red line, but the line grew as blood spilled out and her dying body was allowed to fall to the ground.

..._...

Kick-Ass struck out with his baton.

The baton caught one of The Mother Fucker's minions on the forehead and sent him sprawling with blood spewing from the wound. I rapidly drew my pistols and shot two men. Swipe kicked out and put down a cunt coming up behind Kick-Ass.

I looked for Chris D'Amico, but he seemed to have vanished. All that remained was Katie's corpse with a pool of blood surrounding her. I seized Kick-Ass by the arm and hauled him out of the fight.

"It's time to leave!" I called to Swipe.

The Mother Fucker's surviving minions were fleeing and I could hear sirens approaching. We ran four blocks before we stopped in a dark alley to catch our breath. Once I could breathe again, I pulled out my cell.

* * *

We had received reports of gunshots and possible gang violence near the Brooklyn Bridge.

I was just getting into my car to head over there when my cell rang.

"Sergeant Williams!"

"Oh _very_ official!" I immediately recognised Mindy's voice.

"Is the shit down near Brooklyn anything to do with _you_ by any chance?" I asked.

"Funny you should ask!" Mindy replied, and my heart sank, before she went on. "It was Chris D'Amico. He murdered Katie Deauxma, right in front of us! He slit her throat, Marcus, just to get at Kick-Ass!"

I could tell that Mindy was upset and I was appalled by what I was hearing. The D'Amico family were bad news and obviously had no reason to like Kick-Ass or Hit Girl. But to do that with Dave's missing girlfriend. Damn that was cold!

"Thanks for telling me. Are you all okay – including your new pal?"

The momentary silence told me that I had caught Mindy out. I had heard that there were now three of them.

"Yes, all _three_ of us are fine!" Mindy replied and she sounded a little annoyed, too.

"Take care, it sounds like I have a mess to clean up – again!"

* * *

I hung up and looked at Kick-Ass.

He was still seething, but for now we just needed to get back to safety, at home. We returned to the hidden motorcycles and headed back to the safehouse. After securing the motorcycles , we went upstairs and things just went from bad to worse!

Dave refused to talk to Alex _or_ me. He just stripped out of his suit, got dressed and waited for Alex and me to get ourselves ready. I was worried about him; I had never seen Dave like this, ever!

He had stuck by me, when I needed him, so I was going to damn well, stick by him.

He needed me.

* * *

**_The House_**

We had just got in and I followed Dave into the living room, intending to talk with him.

Dave had not said a word on the walk back. I went to take hold of his arm, but as I did so he flung me backwards, catching me hard across the cheek and I fell against the couch and then onto the floor.

"Mindy, leave me alone!" Dave said coldly, then turned to Alex. "You too, Alexander."

Dave then left the room and I heard him going upstairs.

Weird emotions swept over me. I had the urge to jump up and go after Dave, then smack him one. I also felt the urge to just sit there and cry. Dave was my first and best friend, yet he had just thrown me off to one side, hurting me in the process. I felt offended, I felt hurt and I felt pain; but not in the physical sense – it was emotional hurt and emotional pain.

"You okay, Mindy?" Alex asked, helping me up.

I sat on the couch and felt tears welling up in my eyes. Alex looked mad and when he saw the tears in my eyes he looked madder.

"Don't get involved Alex. This is just between him and me. He didn't mean anything by what he did – I'm Hit Girl for fuck's sake; I don't break dammit!" I said, but Alex still looked mad. "Go to bed, Alex, we'll see about things once we've all had some sleep."

Alex was not convinced, but he knew when to quit.

"Okay, Mindy – night," He said and headed upstairs.

I just sat on the couch and let the tears fall.

* * *

**_The following morning_**

**_The House_**

I had hoped that by breakfast things would be back to normal.

Dave never appeared for breakfast and I was wary about going upstairs to find him. But it had to be done; _I_ needed Dave in my life and I believed that _he_ needed me. I went upstairs and knocked on his bedroom door. I heard nothing, so knocked again. I was now getting worried. I pushed open the door.

Dave was sitting on the floor at the end of the bed. He did not acknowledge my presence at all.

"Dave..." I started and he looked up at me, but never said a word.

His eyes were dark and tired. I didn't think that he had slept at all, since the previous night. He looked awful!

"Dave, err, can I sit down beside you?" I asked, somewhat timidly which made me feel rather stupid.

Dave nodded a little, so I sat down next him, on the floor and carefully lent into him. We just sat there, neither of us saying a word. I resisted the urge to put my arm around Dave. I was worried I would be hit again.

Finally, he looked down at me and smiled.

"I'm sorry I hit you, Mindy – I didn't mean to, my mind was all over the place, last night."

"Don't worry about it – I've had worse done to me!" I replied with a smirk. "Besides, I know you didn't mean it and you had some damn good reasons for getting mad. Last night sucked, big time. That bastard did it on purpose to wind you up. I want him dead, just as much as you, Dave and we _will_ get him – no matter what the dick calls himself or dresses like!"

Dave grinned as he replied.

"You are a lovely friend and companion, Mindy Macready. I would never want to be with anybody else."

..._...

I suddenly felt those strange feelings in my stomach again and bit my lower lip to hide my discomfort. I also started to feel very warm about the cheeks, too. Why did Dave make me feel like this?

"Thanks Mindy," Dave said and stood up, leaving me sitting on the floor and feeling stupid.

While Dave vanished into the bathroom, I quickly got myself together and left the room before I embarrassed myself any further!

* * *

"All sorted?" A grinning Alex asked.

"Dave's just taking a shower," I replied, trying to stop my blushes.

"Oh yeah? Surprised that you're not in there with him!"

I felt my mouth drop open in shock.

"I should slap you stupid for that comment, Alexander!"

"Dave loves you, you know," Alex said seriously.

"What!"

"It's pretty obvious really."

"I – I love him too. He's all I have left, just about. But don't you fucking _dare_ tell Dave that!"

"I won't. I promise," Alex said and I could see that he meant it.

"Quiet!" I hissed. Dave was coming downstairs.

"Hi guys," Dave said with a smile. He looked a lot better, too. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Alex; it wasn't fair on you."

"I've had worse Dave; I've been attacked by a naked Hit Girl!" Alex replied, ignoring my glare of death.


	25. Team Building

**_Two days later  
Sunday_**

Dave was still not himself.

However, at least he was talking to Alex, and me, which was something.

Yesterday had not been fun, to put it mildly! Erika and Marty had come over – they had heard about Katie. Erika was in a right state and Marty was very sad for Dave.

Dave spoke with Erika for quite a while trying to calm her down, but eventually he gave up. We explained to Marty everything that had happened on Thursday night and we all agreed that it might not be a very good idea to let Erika know the exact method of death.

* * *

I was spending as much time as possible with Dave.

Alex was keeping out of the way, by choice, as he thought that would help. I didn't mind, but Chloe insisted on coming over to spend time with Alex – not that she needed much persuading! I had no idea what was going on in his room, all you could hear was Chloe squealing and giggling!

Dave was determined to go after Chris D'Amico. I was trying to find arguments against going after Chris. However, I failed to come up with any good ones. I didn't want Dave to get hurt, so we needed a plan, which in turn needed good intelligence.

"Dave, we are not rushing into this. I did that once and look where that got me!" I said.

"I won't rush into anything, Mindy. I promise," Dave replied, smiling for the first time that day.

"We will avenge Katie, don't you worry. I want Chris' head, as much as you do."

"I know you do; we'll share his head – once we get our hands on it!"

* * *

**_That evening_**

"You evil fucking bitch – I hope you rot in hell!"

"Did that hurt, little Alex?" Mindy said with a laugh.

"Yes, it fucking did!"

"You said you wanted to help!" I reminded the boy as he lay on the mat grimacing with pain.

Alex was holding his thigh, which Mindy had just kicked, very hard.

"I don't think I'm ever going to walk again!" Alex groaned.

"Think yourself lucky; I might have hit you a few inches to the right and bye, bye, sex life!" Mindy said with a chuckle.

"What fucking sex life?" Alex moaned. "It's about as active as yours!"

I saw Mindy blush and turn away from me. I smirked at Alex who was just picking himself up off the mat. A few seconds later, Alex yelled out again, as Mindy kicked him back down.

"No talking about my goddamn sex life, or any parts of my anatomy that are remotely related to sex!" Mindy growled.

Alex groaned with the pain.

"Can I talk about your mouth?" Alex quipped through clenched teeth.

"Of course, my mouth has nothing to do with..." Mindy paused, her eyes went wide and she went red before continuing. "You fucking asshole, I'm gonna rip your fucking balls off!"

"Okay Mindy – Alex's mutilation or even death, while entertaining, will not help anybody!" I cautioned, with a smirk and received a sharp punch in my side from the smirking Mindy.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Wednesday_**

"Kick-Ass, behind you!"

I turned to see a large axe coming towards my head. I swung myself out of the way and drove a baton into the man's face. Blood exploded from his broken nose and he collapsed to the ground. I nodded a thank you to Swipe and moved through the mass of bodies.

Swipe was holding his own and was just driving his armoured knee into another cunt's face. He seemed to be enjoying himself, too! I seized another cunt and threw him against the wall of the nearby building. I stepped over the fallen body and headed towards the purple tornado that was scything through the majority of cunts.

She seemed to be having the time of her young life and I really could not think of anything that would have made her happier! The pile of unconscious and dead cunts, around her, was growing by the minute. I saw a cunt draw a pistol and aim it at Hit Girl's head – I blew his own head off, with my Glock.

"Hey, cunt! That is cheating!" I yelled at the now headless, cunt.

My gunshot seemed to send a ripple of concern, through the cunts, who started to break up and slip away. Finally, Hit Girl was left standing on her own, surrounded by prone bodies.

"You finished?" I asked.

"I'm fucking wiped out – that was tiring!" Hit Girl replied with a smile.

We had come out on patrol, hoping to encourage Chris D'Amico into a fight, but instead we had came across almost a dozen of his minions. They had been planning to cause trouble, but we had put them all down.

* * *

**_The House_**

Mindy was buzzing with excitement.

I hadn't seen her like this in ages. She was grinning from ear to ear. I had to admit that even Alex seemed pleased with the night's activities. He was no longer hesitant when it came to attacking criminals. Maybe, it had been the death of Katie, which had kicked him up a gear – either way; I was very pleased to have him with us.

Being a team just felt great and I knew we could avenge my Dad and Katie.

* * *

That had been the best night out ever!

I had never felt so alive – the adrenalin surging through my veins had heightened my senses and Mindy's training guided my actions. I was kicking the shit out of those men, with skills that she had taught me. The suit had protected me from anything worse than bruises and I had a lot of them!

Mindy seemed to have enjoyed herself. It was amazing, watching this little girl diving in amongst men twice her age and size.

Yet they fell like bowling pins to a bowling ball.

* * *

I was certain that Dave and Alex thought I was completely out of control!

The fight had invigorated me – it had felt like when I was with Daddy. Fighting as a tight-knit team, made such a difference to everything. Now the adrenalin was wearing off, I could feel the bruises on my arms, legs and upper body.

It had been a success – our little team of vigilantes – it had worked!

* * *

**_The following morning  
Thursday_**

I could barely move!

"Regretting being so violent?" Dave asked with a smirk.

I groaned and threw back the duvet. I stared down at my legs and arms.

"If Child Services saw me now, they'd be certain I was being abused!"

Dave just shook his head and laughed at me. Asshole!

..._...

I pushed open Alex's door to find him draped across his bed, on his front, still asleep. I smirked and went over to the bed and started shaking him.

"Time to get up!" I yelled.

"You are a cruel bitch!" Dave commented, peering in.

Alex was moaning, but he finally opened his eyes and turned over.

"Bugger off, Mindy!"

"Good morning to you, too, brat!" I responded.

"Okay, okay – I'm getting up. Fucking yank, bitch!"

* * *

After Mindy had wound up Alex, she went to get a shower.

I went downstairs to start cooking some breakfast. I had only been down there a few minutes when I heard a loud and piercing scream. It was a girl's scream! I ran upstairs and stopped outside the bathroom.

Alex was almost pissing himself laughing and was sitting on the floor. Mindy was standing in the doorway, holding a towel over her body.

"That fucking little bastard turned the fucking hot water off!" Mindy growled.

I tried not to laugh, but failed and gave Mindy an apologetic look before I started laughing non-stop. Mindy looked mad!

"I'm sorry Mindy – I had to get you back for waking me up – it was harmless, but damn funny!" Alex said, before collapsing with laughter.

"Oh ha, fucking ha! Immature little twats!" Mindy growled and pushed past us both.

Once Mindy had gone into her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, I turned to Alex.

"She'll make you pay for that, Alexander!" I cautioned. "Damn good job, though!"

* * *

Those two assholes needed to learn some fucking respect.

Who the fuck did they think they were messing with?

I will make them pay – big time!

Oh grow up, Mindy; it was just some cold water, for fuck's sake!

It was funny, though and as Alex said – it _was_ harmless.

I calmed myself down before I did anything that I would regret – or worse, humiliated myself in front of Dave!


	26. Haze

**_Two days later  
Saturday_**

**_The House_**

It was Chloe's turn for pain and Mindy happily dished it out without a pause.

Mind you, she had started with Alexander first! Me, well she passed on me and went direct to hurting Alex, before she then moved onto Chloe. I was certain

"Mindy that bruise is going to take weeks to fade!" Chloe growled angrily as she examined the bruise on her thigh, the she turned on Alex. "Enjoying the view?"

"Yes thanks!" Alex replied, enjoying the sight of Chloe's thigh.

Chloe rolled down the leg of her shorts in disgust. I laughed, Alex was getting to the stage where he had two girls angry with him and both could hit back, hard. I was able to foretell a painful future for the boy!

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

Dave and I were out shopping – admittedly not in the best part of town; but it had what we needed.

We were passing an alley when we heard scuffling and yells of pain. We looked down the alley and saw a man being beaten up by four others. It was daylight and we had no masks, so prudence said that we should just call 9-1-1 and walk away. However, the new Dave thought differently.

The men were each holding a baseball bat. A fifth man had his back to us and was similarly armed with a baseball bat.

"Stay here!" Dave said, leaving me holding the bags of shopping.

He strode forwards and came up behind the fifth man before driving his fist into the man's neck, putting him down. Dave then swept up the baseball bat.

"Now you assholes lay off that man!" He growled loudly, holding the baseball bat against his shoulder.

"What the fuck?" The closest man demanded, raising his own bat.

"You dare to attack _me_?" Dave demanded in response, as the man's bat came around towards Dave.

Dave intercepted the incoming bat and flipped it out of the man's hands, then smacked the man in the face with his own appropriated bat. The man went down as blood exploded from his face. The next man attacked Dave and found his bat sailing into the air, just like the previous one. Dave followed this up with a blow to the man's stomach, followed by the end of his bat in the side of his head. The final pair of men moved in and attacked Dave together. Again, a bat sailed through the air, before the bat's owner was struck three times and he fell onto his battered face.

I hated to admit it, but this was one hell of a turn on!

The final man was able to hold his own for almost a minute against Dave's bat, before Dave spun his bat around and the man raised his bat upwards with a hand at each end top deflect Dave's blow, which broke the bat in two. The man dropped the two halves before joining them a few seconds later as Dave smacked him around the head.

I thought it was all over, however the first man had other ideas, as he stood back up with a pistol in his hand. Dave responded by spinning around and striking the pistol with his bat and sending the pistol flying through the air. The second man also rose up, but he was dispatched with a blow to his jaw.

"Stay down, bastards!" Dave growled. Then he walked out of the alley, leaving the man who had been attacked looking confused, but alive.

"There's nothing like a nice piece of hickory!" Dave growled, dropping the bat. He walked past me, leaving me standing there like a fan girl!

"You coming, girl?" Dave asked, smirking at me.

"You could say that!" I responded.

* * *

"Did you see the guy who stopped the attack?" Sergeant Williams asked.

"No, the alley was dark. He was big and fairly muscular – he cut through those five guys like they weren't even there!" The injured man replied. "He kicked ass!"

"Did he now?" Sergeant Williams said with a hint of sarcasm. "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy!"

"Huh?" The man asked.

"Nothing, just taking notes..."

* * *

**_That evening_**

"Dave was awesome! I felt – I don't know what I felt..."

"You have feelings for Dave, don't you?" Chloe asked with a grin.

"I suppose so – I have no idea – you won't tell him, or anybody!" I said quickly, feeling embarrassed.

"No, Mindy. I will not say a word."

"You are a good friend, Chloe – I have nobody else to talk to about... These things," I replied.

"You are a strange girl, Mindy – I have to admit that. However, I like you and you are teaching me to be a stronger person. I'm glad that I can help you and give something back."

"So – what about you and Alex? You said his hands have been wandering..."

* * *

There were times that I thought of myself as strange and this was one of them.

My best friend was, not to put too fine a point on it, a mass murderer. My boyfriend was also somebody who killed people – admittedly in numbers infinitely smaller than Mindy's! So, what did I do in response to all this? I joined them!

I now had an armoured suit – just like them. It was almost a twin to Mindy's, except that mine was predominantly dark grey with lighter grey highlights. On my left hip, I had a Glock 26 Gen4 pistol. My suit had an embossed 'H', on the top left of my chest plate.

"Not bad, Haze – you look cool!" Kick-Ass said and I felt myself blushing.

"Damn! All the blood has just left my brain and gone south!" Swipe quipped.

"Trust you to lower the tone, Swipe!" Hit Girl growled, but she smirked at me anyway, which just made me blush even more.

"Hit Girl decided that you needed a competent melee weapon and you showed considerable talent with the bō-staff," Kick-Ass said.

"So, we have decided to give our newest vigilante her own bō-staff!" Hit Girl finished.

"Haze – your bō-staff!" Swipe said, producing the viciously pointed weapon from behind his back with a flourish.

"Thanks, dick!"

"You are most welcome, Haze!" Swipe replied.

* * *

"Swipe! Hands off Haze; you can feel her up on your own time!"

"Yes, ma'am, Hit Girl!"

"Do I need to slap you?" I growled with menace in my voice.

"Tempting – but now is not the time! Maybe later?"

"What the fuck do you see in him, Haze?" I queried.

"He has potential!" Haze quipped.

"Can we turn the hormones off for a few hours?" Kick-Ass growled.

It would be Haze's first night out and I hoped it would be a good one.

* * *

We patrolled around the dark alleyways for a while, before we came across the first drug dealers of the night.

Apparently, they tended to only appear after eleven in the evening, according to Hit Girl, whom it seemed had a very special place in her heart for that very special breed of criminal. She called them her personal ATM; I found that quite amusing!

There were six of them, three watchdogs, two runners and a boss. Hit Girl had told me that was a fairly normal arrangement. Hit Girl and Swipe went up and over the apartment block to get to the opposite end of the alley, while I stayed with Kick-Ass. I had to admit that I felt very safe, next to Kick-Ass; nothing could happen to me. I started to hear voices on the communications system that we carried.

"Swipe, ready."

"Hit Girl, ready."

"Kick-Ass, ready," Kick-Ass said, looking down at me and nodding encouragingly.

"Haze, ready," I said, smiling back. I felt ready, as I took a good grip on my bō-staff and watched Kick-Ass ready his batons.

"Go!" Kick-Ass announced and we all moved forward as one, two from each end of the alley.

I could see Swipe beyond the men, with his baton up and ready and beside him Hit Girl with her bō-staff ready.

Kick-Ass was able to smack one of the watchdogs across the back of the head, before anybody noticed we were even there; then all hell broke loose. Hit Girl thrust her bō-staff blade into the stomach of the boss, before swinging around to deal a similar blow to a runner. Swipe drove his baton into the chest of another watchdog, before ramming his armoured elbow into the man's face, then blowing his head off with a single round from his pistol.

That shocked the hell out of me. I knew Alex – no, Swipe, had killed, but to see him doing it! The other runner ran directly at me. I felt myself freeze and then a surge of what must have been adrenalin moved through my veins and I felt myself moving forward. I swung my bō-staff in a smooth arc and drove it into the man's stomach. The man tried to push himself off the beyond razor sharp blade. I withdrew the blade and the man collapsed to the floor of the alleyway in an ever-increasing pool of blood.

Blood was everywhere and I felt my stomach turn, but I took a deep breath and pushed forward towards the others. Hit Girl was inspecting a large bag that seemed to have wads of cash and plastic wrapped something or others.

"You okay?" Haze asked.

"What a rush!" I replied. "Is it always like this?"

"Every time, Haze," Hit Girl replied with a grin. "Every time!"


	27. Attacking The Enemy

**_Two days later  
Monday afternoon_**

**_The House_**

I had been very pleased with how well Chloe had done on her first night out.

She had also killed, almost without hesitation, which was a surprise. Our small team now had four operators, which would give us a lot more flexibility, than we had at present. Of course, our resident hormone-filled teenaged boy thought that was great. The kid could not get enough of Chloe and would love to see more!

* * *

**_A week later  
Friday night_**

**_The House_**

The girls were having a sleepover!

I had no idea whose idea it was and I was rather surprised that Mindy would go for something as girly and innocent as a sleepover. Maybe Chloe was rubbing off on Mindy. I hoped so – Mindy needed some feminine friendship. I could only be so much of a friend to her and as for Alex – Mindy usually just beat him up, rather than talked to him!

..._...

I had _no_ idea what those two were doing upstairs and to tell you the truth – I really did not want to know – but I had heard giggling all evening. Alex had finally come downstairs earlier on, in a bad mood, because he was sick of the giggling coming from the room next to his. He was currently enjoying watching Game of Thrones with me – nothing like seeing some decent blood and violence for a change. Alex also greatly enjoyed the regular images of women in various stages of undress – which I had to admit, I did too! Just as we were enjoying an awesomely cool scene with Arya viciously stabbing a man in the throat, I heard voices on the stairs.

"Go on then." It was Chloe's voice. "Or are you a damned chicken?"

"Well, _you_ wouldn't fucking _dare_ do this!" Mindy's voice and she sounded annoyed.

"I damn well would! Give me a second..."

A minute later.

"You are fucking nuts, Chloe!" Mindy said with a giggle.

"Well move it, bitch!"

..._...

Before I knew it, there was a brief flash of bare skin and then Mindy appeared on my lap.

"Hi Dave!" Mindy said with a cheeky expression, before giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Err, Mindy?"

"Bye Dave!" Mindy said before leaping up.

During this, I had heard Chloe saying similar words to Alex. The two girls, their faces red with embarrassment, ran out of the room and then upstairs in a fit of giggles. I stared at Alex, who just stared back at me with a blank look on his face.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Alex finally asked, sounding a little shocked.

"I have _no_ fucking idea!" I replied, equally shocked.

It was not the fact that Mindy had just kissed me, or the fact that Chloe had just kissed Alex that had shocked us both; it was the fact that both girls had been absolutely and completely naked!

"They playing 'truth or dare', you think?" Alex asked.

"I sincerely hope so – I really do!" I replied.

* * *

It must have taken us almost twenty minutes to calm down and stop giggling after that escapade!

Yes, we had been playing 'truth or dare' – I had received the dare; and never mind what the question was! Chloe had dared me to go and kiss Dave. I had replied that I thought that a rather lame dare, as generally you are supposed to not, _want_ to do the dare! Chloe had then upgraded the dare by saying that I had to go downstairs, sit on his lap and kiss him – while naked!

Me? I was game for anything – or so I had thought! By the time I was standing on those stairs, with nothing on – I was starting to get second thoughts. Then, as I hesitated, Chloe had called me a chicken; which had resulted in me challenging _her_ and to my surprise Chloe, without a second thought, had pulled off her pyjamas and joined me on the stairs – completely naked!

What the fuck Dave and Alex, were thinking right then, I had absolutely no fucking idea! Nevertheless, I damn well enjoyed it – as I did with anything that sent adrenalin through my veins. I had also found it extremely embarrassing and I was dreading the morning when I would have to look Dave in the face at breakfast.

However, would I do it again?

Hell, yeah!

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

Alex and I were up first, on purpose, so we could see the girl's expressions.

We sat in the kitchen waiting for them. We actually heard them, before we saw them and they were giggling about something or other. The giggling rapidly stopped, as soon as the two girls saw us waiting for them. Both girls blushed bright red and looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Alex was grinning as he looked at Chloe; I assumed Alex was imagining her naked, again. Alex did seem to have enjoyed having a naked Chloe on his lap! I smirked at Mindy, who just stood there seemingly unable to move.

"You two enjoy yourselves last night?" I asked facetiously.

"Anything out of the ordinary happen?" Alex asked, innocently.

I saw Mindy trying to stop herself laughing.

"You'd never guess what happened to us two, last night," I continued.

"Okay, asshole; enough is enough!" Mindy exploded, then calmed down and smirked. "Did you enjoy it?"

"You gonna be doing it again anytime soon?" Alex asked, hopefully.

"Anything's possible!" Chloe admitted coyly.

I looked at Mindy.

"You know me – I'm unpredictable!" She said, innocently.

* * *

**_That night_**

**_Safehouse C_**

We were working on building up an intelligence network, which would keep us informed, as to what Chris D'Amico might be up to in the City.

Our snitches had confirmed that the bastard was still somewhere within New York. We had no idea where, though. We also had no idea when he would next show his ugly mug or what he would get up to next. We did though, have information that said Chris was working to replace the minions that we had killed.

..._...

We got ourselves geared up for another night out.

"You two wearing clothes tonight?" Alex asked as he pulled on his suit.

I saw the two girls look at each other and smile – dangerously. They each grabbed an arm and thrust Alex up against the wall. Alex just smirked at them both.

"I can take you both – no sweat, but I'd rather you ditch the clothes first!" Alex teased.

"Do you like having a dick?" Mindy asked.

"How about your balls?" Chloe added.

Alex contemplated these difficult, potentially life changing, questions and came to the same answer for both.

"I'll hang onto them for now, thank you!" Alex replied.

"He learns fast," Chloe admitted and Mindy nodded with a laugh.

"Besides, you never know when you might want to get your hands on them, Haze!" Alex quipped, pulling on his mask and quickly arming himself with his baton.

"Girls!" I said, quickly. "You can attack Alexander later – let's go do what we do!"

"You got it, Kick-Ass!" Hit Girl agreed with a mock salute.

* * *

Firstly, we headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

I was really looking forward to some action; I had enjoyed me first exposure to this world of the vigilante. My mind, though, was not quite on the task ahead of me. I could not help thinking back to the previous evening. I had _never_ done anything like that before – in fact _nobody_, other than Mom had seen me naked before. Nor did I make a habit of running around naked, either! I did enjoy it, though – which I found to be a surprise. Likewise, Alexander had seemed to enjoy my landing in his lap, naked. Now, I wanted to see him naked...

"Haze are you with us?" Hit Girl enquired in her growly voice.

"Err, yeah, sorry!" I replied.

..._...

I was glad that Hit Girl got my head back into the game, as the shit very soon hit the fan!

"Well, well, well!"

Kick-Ass froze at the voice and stared up at a group of fuckers gathering in front of us. They were all armed with various lethal weapons and suited up in various outlandish costumes. I saw that Hit Girl had readied her bō-staff, so I did the same.

"Chris D'Amico!" Kick-Ass yelled back angrily.

"That is _not_ my name!" Chris yelled back.

"Whatever – I beat you before – I'll damn well beat you again!" Kick-Ass responded.

Chris looked a little uncomfortable as Kick-Ass took several paces closer, flanked by Hit Girl and myself, with Swipe behind.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to my Dad, Kick-Ass!"

"Maybe he should have learnt to fly!" Hit Girl growled with a smirk.

"He blew up my Dad with a bazooka!"

Kick-Ass was now only a couple of feet from The Motherfucker, as he seemed to be calling himself now. They both glared at each other. I wondered if things were about to kick off – they did!

Kick-Ass raised his right fist, and drove it forward, straight into the face of Chris D'Amico.

* * *

Once Kick-Ass 'kicked' things off, I flew forwards weaving my bō-staff and I could see Haze doing the same.

We had about a dozen cunts to mow through and not much time to do it in, before the cops appeared. I looked around for Chris D'Amico, 'The Motherfucker', or whatever that dick, was calling himself. However, I could not see him; he should have been on the ground but there was no sign of him. Instead, I drove my forefinger into the left eye of a cunt dressed up with a skull mask, after fending off his mace type weapon. The man dropped as blood spurted from his eye.

Damn, that was fun – first time I'd tried that trick!

* * *

Well, that was very Hit Girl!

She seemed to be savouring that kill. I could see the man's blood and guts glistening on her gauntlet, as she whirled her bō-staff and headed for the next cunt. I pushed forward clubbing anybody within reach and searched for Chris D'Amico. I was covering Hit Girl's rear, letting her concentrate on what was in front of her.

Right now, something big was in front of her. That something was large and possibly female. There was a lot of red to the costume too. The woman was probably three to four times Hit Girl's size and was able to effortlessly fend off Hit Girl's bō-staff attack and throw her bodily backwards onto the ground. I heard Hit Girl scream out as she hit the concrete; she must have been hurt as I rarely heard Hit Girl call out and never when fighting for real.

Notwithstanding any injuries, Hit Girl twisted herself and sprang back to her feet attempting a slash with her bō-staff, but she was swept of her feet and she went crashing back down again. This time she swore foully, before springing back up and running forwards and skidding in between the enormous woman's legs and stabbing upwards with her bō-staff. The blade entered into the woman's side causing her to yell out in pain.

This did not seem to slow the giant woman. Instead she seized the bō-staff and yanked it from her side and then from Hit Girl's hands. She threw the weapon off to one side, like a javelin and then turned to look down at Hit Girl.

"You rely on your weapons far too much, little one – let's see how you fight without them!" The woman said to Hit Girl with a strong accent.

Enough was enough – I drew my Glock and sent several rounds towards the woman, hitting her twice. Again, she seemed to shrug off the wounds, but she also broke off the fight with Hit Girl and retreated up an alley followed by the other surviving minions.

I turned to survey the scene. It was bad. There were four dead bodies – all minions, but several wounded, including Swipe. The boy had Hit Girl's bō-staff embedded in his right leg.

It was time to leave; sirens approached.


	28. Healing The Wounds

**_That night  
Saturday_**

**_New York City_**

I answered my cell.

"Hi, Chloe! How is it go –?"

"Shut up Mom – just get over to the Safehouse right now – he's wounded!"

I grabbed my case and ran down to the car.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

The door buzzed as I approached and I entered the room that I remembered from before.

On the couch, I could see Alex. The boy's right thigh was bound tightly with a blood-soaked bandage. He still had most of his armoured suit on, all except for his mask. Tears were running down his face and he was grimacing in pain. Beside him, my daughter, in her own armoured suit but without her mask, was holding Alex's hand and she had tears of her own spilling down her face, too. Dave and Mindy were unmasked and the former was helping the latter to remove her suit. Mindy looked to be in pain as well.

"I assume things _did not_ go well?" I asked rhetorically.

Mindy just scowled. I pushed Chloe out of the way, knelt down and started to remove the bandage from Alex's thigh. I tried to ignore the two vicious looking double-ended swords that were covered with dried blood.

"What stabbed him?" I asked.

"It was Mindy's bō-staff –," Chloe said, before adding rather quickly. "– but it wasn't Mindy!"

"Dave, help me get his suit off," I instructed. "Chloe – go help Mindy."

* * *

An hour later, Alex was out of his suit, cleaned up and he had a clean, white bandage wrapped around his right thigh.

Dr Bennett had given him something to help with the pain and he had dozed off. She had then moved onto Mindy. I was a little shocked when I had seen Mindy's lower back – it was heavily bruised and Mindy let out small squeals of pain each time Dr Bennett touched a tender part of her back. She was bruised on her backside, too.

It was not just her body, which was bruised, however; her ego was, too. I knew that Mindy did not take being beaten, lightly and that massive woman had kept throwing Mindy down repeatedly. I could tell that Mindy was very annoyed at the beat down and she was thoroughly pissed off about it. The bruises just made it worse!

..._...

Cathy finished checking us all over and headed home. She said she would come by and see us tomorrow evening to change Alex's bandage. As Alex was asleep, we decided to bed down at the Safehouse and head back to the house in the morning. Alex was on the couch, which meant that Mindy and I got a bed each – at least to start with.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

I was dreaming – at least I thought so; I could feel something resting on my chest.

When I opened my eyes, I looked down and saw a mass of blonde hair in front of me. It could only be Mindy! On further inspection, I could see that Mindy was lying on her front, with her head resting on my chest; she was fast asleep. I reached under the duvet and found that she at least had her pyjama bottoms on and a t-shirt.

I had no idea how long she had been in the bed, with me and I didn't want to wake her. On the other hand, I didn't want anybody to see her cuddling up with me; they might get the wrong idea! I wouldn't say that Mindy was unattractive – quite the opposite, actually; she was filling out nicely. However, she was far too young for _anything_ like that.

As I was considering what to do next, Mindy started to stir and I found her gripping me tighter, with her left arm was across my stomach. Then Mindy's left hand began to move down, across my stomach and just as it reached the waistband of my shorts...

"Stop!" I said loudly, slapping Mindy on her backside.

Mindy yelled out in pain.

"That fucking hurt, you asshole!" Mindy growled and then she giggled.

"What?" I demanded. Mindy turned her head to look up at me. She smiled.

"So damn close!" She whispered, her face glowing bright pink.

"Err, Mindy – you are a thirteen year-old girl, for fuck's sake!"

"Thirteen and a half – big difference!" Mindy corrected.

I roughly pushed her off me, onto the floor and got out of bed. Mindy looked annoyed, but still somewhat embarrassed!

"What the hell has gotten into you?" I demanded.

"Not what I wanted!" Mindy replied cryptically, but I got the drift.

"We need to talk about boundaries, Mindy!" I suggested, heading for the bathroom.

* * *

Breakfast was rather a subdued affair.

My ass hurt like hell, both from the bruises that I had received from the Russian bitch and now the slap that Dave gave me, not to mention being thrown out of bed and onto the floor! My ego was even more dented, too; all I had wanted was to – I didn't know what I wanted, maybe it was stupid, but...

"Why do you look like you just had your favourite toy taken away?" Alex asked, hobbling over to the table, grimacing with pain.

My eyes almost popped out of my head – Alex was remarkably close to the truth!

"Nothing!" I replied, trying to join my cereal in the bowl, in an attempt to hide my face.

But Alex was not stupid. He smirked and looked around the Safehouse.

"Where's Dave? You too had a fight? Or was it something else...?" Alex asked, still smirking.

"You want to walk again?" I growled.

Alex just laughed at me – the asshole was like Dave; he was now resistant to my threats.

"Did you two do something last night?" Alex demanded.

"No we did not, Alexander – just drop it, if you know what's good for you!" Dave suggested strongly, as he came out of the bathroom, fully dressed.

I did my best to avoid his eyes, but failed. Dave did _not_ look happy. Alex looked at us both and came to a decision.

"Can we get back home, so I can lie down and rest? Then you two can have your little scrap!" He suggested.

Dave glared at me and then nodded at Alex.

"Good idea. Get dressed, you two and we can catch a cab."

* * *

**_Later that morning_**

**_The House_**

Things were still uncomfortable, towards lunchtime.

I had no idea what had happened between the two of them, but it did not look good. Additionally, it was getting on my nerves, too! Luckily, I was able to retire to my room and get some sleep, as my leg was bloody killing me!

* * *

**_That evening_**

Dr Bennett appeared as promised, with Chloe in tow.

After her Mom had changed my bandage and endured some of my bad language, due to the pain, Chloe asked me a question.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Chloe had obviously sensed the super-charged atmosphere between Dave and Mindy.

"Beats me – something happened this morning – now Dave ignores Mindy and Mindy snipes at Dave every now and then," I explained.

"Have you asked?"

"I was told to 'drop it' in no uncertain terms!"

"Oh – I see!" Chloe replied, although I didn't think she did.

* * *

**_Five days later  
Friday night_**

**_East Brooklyn_**

We pushed through the double doors into the lobby.

Hit Girl was leading, an MP5KA4 raised in front of her. Kick-Ass was off to the left, an MP5A3 in his hands. I followed with a Glock 26 in my hands. Swipe was laid up, at home and being looked after by Marty and Erika. On the floor, was the prone form of a man; I ran forward to check the man's pulse.

"He's dead!"

"Well reasoned, Sherlock!" Hit Girl said scornfully.

I glared at the bitch, but I also caught the apologetic look that Kick-Ass gave me. Hit Girl then moved on towards the stairs and we followed. Somebody else was here; somebody else killed that watchdog, with a single gunshot to the head.

..._...

We were here, going after some of Chris's freaks – at least that was what our intelligence said. Apparently, somebody else had the same intelligence.

We moved up the stairs and found ourselves in a corridor. From there we found three doors, one was partially open while the other two were closed. Hit Girl and Kick-Ass moved towards the open door, while I covered the closed doors. Hit Girl pushed the door back against its stops and revealed another corridor. To the right was a doorway, but before anybody could move, a body fell backwards out of the doorway. The head rolled to the side to stare at us. The head had a single bullet hole in the forehead.

Somebody stepped over the body, saw us and then ran in the other direction, down the corridor. Hit Girl raised her weapon, but Kick-Ass knocked the barrel up, as she fired.

"What the hell, Kick-Ass; you fucking asshole!"

"It was a damn girl!" Kick-Ass retorted, angrily.

"Oh – and girls aren't killers, is that it?" Hit Girl retorted. "I'm a damned girl – not that you've fucking noticed – and I am also a killer. But then any other girl looks better than me!"

"Grow the fuck up!" Kick-Ass growled as he pushed past the fuming Hit Girl.

I was more than a little shocked by Hit Girl's outburst, but decided to put it off until later and ran after Kick-Ass, ignoring Hit Girl. I followed the corridor and when I caught up with Kick-Ass, he indicated for me to go down another corridor, while he continued straight ahead.

I headed down the corridor with my pistol up.

* * *

I caught up with the running girl.

She was short, seemed older than Mindy and had short black hair. Above all, she had a large pistol aimed at me.

"Don't come any closer, Kick-Ass!" She ordered.

"Who are you?" I asked, playing for time.

"Not that it's any business of yours; however, you can call me 'Leon'!"

"Now we both know each other, we can lower our weapons," I suggested.

"_I_ don't think so!" 'Leon' replied, still aiming the large weapon at me.

"But _I_ do think so!" Haze commented, pointing her Glock 26 at the girl's head from the side.

The dejected looking girl released the weapon and let it spin forward on her trigger finger. Haze seized the pistol, while I covered her. Before anything else could be said, all hell broke loose. I heard a burst of gunfire from the next room; several rounds came through the wall and the three of us all ducked for cover. Seconds later, the gunfire stopped and we stood up.

Only two of us stood up, however. I gazed down at the girl – there was blood running down the side of her face.


	29. The Professional

**_Friday night_**

**_The House_**

"You know, if you guys were actually paying me for my visits, I might actually be able to give up working!" Dr Bennett commented as she headed home. "You staying Chloe?"

"Yeah, Mom!"

"Thought so!"

* * *

The girl was lying on the couch.

She had a large gauze pad on the side of her head, where the bullet had gouged its path. She was, up to this point, unconscious and had been for the past two hours, but she was now starting to stir. She opened her eyes, which were brown and which went suddenly wide at the sight of me standing over her.

"How you doing?" I asked politely.

The girl put her hand up to her head and then froze.

"Nice wig, by the way."

The girl actually had shoulder length brown hair, which she had tucked away under the short black wig. My revelation made her look rather despondent.

"You _are_ safe here; 'Leon' isn't it?" I asked.

The girl bit her lip before replying.

"I go by 'The Heir', professionally."

"The heir to what?" I queried.

"I am the heir to 'The Professional'," The girl stated, simply and without bravado or unnecessary emphasis.

Now I recognised that name. Daddy had mentioned him some years ago, although I understood that he had ceased operating a couple of years before today. 'The Professional' was an assassin and a very good one.

No matter who you were, if 'The Professional' was after you – you were dead, end of story!

* * *

"You have an interesting taste in weapons," The blonde girl continued, holding up one of my pistols. "Beretta 92FS with a custom compensator; a heavy weapon, but accurate."

My head was reeling and throbbing with the pain; but I was still able to see that the pistol was unloaded and that the slide was locked back. I was not sure if I should be worried or not. Was I safe? I decided to take a chance.

"Am I speaking with the purple assassin, Hit Girl?" I asked tentatively.

"Anything's possible," The girl replied, nonchalantly inserting a magazine into the Beretta and releasing the slide. I cringed at the sound of the slide racking forward, as the pistol was then pointed directly at me.

Next, the girl reached over to a table and produced a suppressor – my suppressor! The girl proceeded to screw the suppressor onto the muzzle of the Beretta; _now_ I was feeling worried. It was actually interesting to watch, the girl was obviously an expert with weapons; she handled the Beretta very much as _he_ had.

I started to shake as I gazed into the large gaping hole that was the muzzle. The pistol was pointed directly between my eyes. I focussed on the slim finger that gently caressed the trigger and took up the slack, gently squeezing until the trigger broke and I screamed –

"Shit hit your shorts?" The blonde girl asked, smiling as she removed the, thankfully empty, magazine and made the weapon safe.

It took me a minute to get my faculties back together!

"That was _not_ nice, Hit Girl!" I said as casually as I could.

"What were you doing there?" Hit Girl demanded, rapidly changing subject and inserted an obviously loaded magazine.

"Probably the same as you and your team."

"Who were you targeting?"

"Robert Rath."

Hit Girl grinned before replying. "Not Electra or Miguel?"

Fuck! "Okay, we watch the same movies!" I replied.

"We do..." Hit Girl replied, racking back the slide and this time I heard the round being stripped from the magazine.

"Okay, okay – His name was Reed and that' all I knew. He's dead, contract closed."

"Thank you," Hit Girl replied. "I'm Mindy, and you are?"

I was still eyeing the pistol in her hands, cocked and ready to fire.

"I'm Mathilda," I replied. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mindy – I'd like to say that I'd heard a lot about you – but only rumours."

"I have to say that I know nothing about you; but I am aware of 'The Professional'. He still alive?"

I bit my lip as I replied. "No – he died a couple of years ago..."

"I'm sorry – I know how it feels to lose somebody close to you..."

We both just looked at each other, neither speaking for several minutes, but Hit Girl or rather Mindy, made the Beretta safe again.

* * *

"How you two doing; making out yet?" Dave asked, coming into the living room.

We both glared at him and he flinched a little.

"Just kidding!" Dave commented, grinning.

"Dave, meet Mathilda – Mathilda, meet Dave."

"Hi Dave."

"Hi Mathilda. Mindy being a bitch?" Dave asked with a smile.

I scowled.

"So is Dave your boyfriend?" Mathilda asked.

I felt myself blushing.

"Oh, I see – sorry!"

* * *

"She is quite hot, really – I like the hair – ouch, fuck! What was that for?"

"My hair not good enough for you?" Chloe demanded, having just hit Alex around the head.

"I was only saying, snarky bitch!"

"She's too old for you, so wind in your hormones!" Dave advised with a laugh.

"We keeping her?" Chloe asked.

"Mathilda is not a pet dog, Chloe!" I groaned. "It is up to Mathilda what she wants to do. She will need a few days to recover from the injury – she still has some double vision. She will be our house guest for a while, please be nice."

"Okay – bitchy!" Chloe retorted.

"Why did I ever volunteer for this shit?" Dave chuckled wearily.

Chloe and Alex vanished; I could hear them arguing as they went upstairs. Mathilda was fast asleep on the couch. I had told her that she could stay as long as she wanted. Apparently, she lived at some school or other, out on the edge of the City. There was no way that she could go back there, not with a big bump to the head!

Why was I feeling generous? The girl had obvious potential, especially considering who her mentor had been – Mathilda had been tight lipped about how 'The Professional' had died and I did not push it, not yet at least.

Did I trust her? Not really, but the girl had no choice and I had taken away her weapons. I had a distinct feeling that she only used firearms and had not learnt the finer points of hand-to-hand combat.

At least not yet.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

**_The House_**

"What's up with you?"

"I think I just saw something that I shouldn't have!" Alex mumbled – he looked a little bit shocked.

"You've lost me..." I replied, pulling on my trousers.

As I often did at the weekend, I had stayed the night. Before anybody starts getting ideas, Alex's room had bunk beds and I slept on the bottom, while Alex slept on the top. Alex looked down at me and he looked kinda strange.

"I just went to the toilet and the door was part open, so I went in and –," Alex began.

"What could have been so bad that – oh!" I replied, an idea forming in my mind.

"She was naked – completely and wow –!"

"You've seen _me_ naked," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but Mathilda – wow –!"

"What was so 'wow'?" I asked angrily. "And think before you answer, if you want to live!"

"She just stood there and actually turned so I could get a better look; she didn't seem bothered."

"So – you enjoyed it?" I asked, scowling.

"Just a bit!" Alex replied.

"All the blood went south, did it?"

"Most of it, yeah."

Just then Mathilda appeared in the doorway; she was wrapped in a towel.

"Sorry, Alex – I forgot to lock the door."

I didn't believe a fucking word of it! Was I feeling jealous? Maybe – she did have bigger tits and more curves than I had. But then Alex was a teenaged boy and probably couldn't control himself when a naked girl appeared in front of him!

"He'll get over it!" I said, smiling.

"How old are you, Mathilda?" Alex asked.

"I'm fifteen; my birthday was the middle of March. You?"

"I'm thirteen; I'm November. Chloe will be thirteen in couple of months; August."

I glared at Alex for giving away my age, not that it mattered any. Yes, I was the only one here who wasn't yet a teenager.

* * *

"Problem?" Mindy asked at breakfast.

I just grinned and smirked sideways at Mathilda, who grinned back. Mindy, looked at Dave, who just shook his head. Then she looked at Alex who seemed to squirm in his chair.

"Alex got a little more than he bargained for when he went for a piss, this morning!" I explained cryptically and watched as Alex blushed red.

"Oh – tell me more!" Mindy said, enjoying the scent of gossip and potential humiliation for Alex.

"Alex got an eyeful of tits and certain other regions!" I explained further, looking towards Mathilda.

Mindy looked at the deeply uncomfortable Alex and the grinning Mathilda.

I thought you were used to seeing naked girls?" Mindy asked with a big grin. "Mathilda got bigger tits – is that it, Alexander?"

"Yeah!" Alex murmured, blushing a darker shade of red.

* * *

I had called the school to let them know that something had come up.

They were not happy about it, but knew that there was not point arguing with me when my mind was made up.

Would I have been injured if Hit Girl and her team had not been there? Was it their fault? No, that was my foggy mind telling me that. I felt safe around these people – Mindy was more than a little nuts; but then I wasn't exactly one hundred percent sane, either – who was in that job!

I seemed to have hit it off with Chloe – despite flashing everything for her boyfriend to gawk at. I wasn't particularly bothered who saw me naked; I had nothing particularly special to show anyhow, although Alex seemed to think differently!

I had wondered if they might let me join their team. Over the months since Leon's death – almost two years now, I had been trying to plan out my future. Tony had begrudgingly given me some easy clients – I didn't need the money; Leon had taken care of that, but I did need the practice. Tony readily supplied me with equipment, but he would not help train me in any way.

I felt comfortable around Dave, too – I knew nothing much about boys. I never really fitted in much with the other girls at the school, but I got on with them okay. They all knew that I was 'different' and had some habits that seemed weird to them, but normal to me. Maybe I would seem normal to these people.

I looked at the ceiling.

"I think I will be okay here, Leon."


	30. Awakening

**_Four days later  
Wednesday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

The new girl actually turned out to be rather a good shot.

Considering who her teacher had been – she _had_ to be a good shot! Was I feeling threatened by her being here, with her skills? Dave seemed to think that I was; which was very annoying. I spent that morning looking through the girl's equipment. I had intended to do it a day or two previously, but I just never got around to it.

When we had found the girl, unconscious, in that building she had been wearing a long, dark blue coat that had dropped to below her knees. Once we had returned to the Safehouse, we had removed the coat, along with the cloth cap that she had worn over her short, black wig. Underneath the coat, she wore a harness of sorts that positively bristled with weaponry. Dave had commented that the girl had seemed a little like me – asshole!

The harness had supported two more firearms – a Ruger SP101 revolver and surprisingly a Spectre M4 sub-machine gun, and an assortment of magazines, plus some grenades. The grenades were a selection of high explosive, smoke and flashbang devices. Mathilda was remarkably well armed, considering her small stature and the weight of all these items, not to mention the Beretta she had also been carrying.

..._...

The Beretta had been fitted with a custom compensator, which reduced how much the barrel would rise during rapid firing. She had also had a custom suppressor fitted with an extended thread that would pass through the compensator, to attach directly to the barrel of the weapon. Both additions to the Beretta had been well designed and constructed – I was impressed. All the weapons had been meticulously clean and extremely well maintained, despite being older models and obviously well used.

The standard of care given to the weapons showed how careful Mathilda was. Both, Chloe and Alex often complained about how long myself, and latterly Dave, spent cleaning and maintaining our weapons. Chloe and Alex generally rushed cleaning their firearms, which meant that one day they would fail when they were needed the most!

* * *

The place was surprisingly quiet, that morning.

I knew that Dave was still in bed – I had checked. Alex was not in his room, which was a surprise – the kid tended to lie in most mornings – he blamed puberty! I headed downstairs and heard a TV on, playing some cheesy music. I stopped at the door to the living room and looked in.

Mathilda was watching some crappy exercise show. Currently, she was bending right forward, to touch her toes. Now I knew where Alex was; I peered around the door and found Alex on the couch – he was _not_ watching the TV!

"Having fun?" I enquired and Alex jumped at the sound of my voice.

"I was watching TV with Mathilda," Alex replied, quickly and without shame.

"Morning, Mindy," Mathilda said, straightening up and ignoring Alexander. "Time for breakfast?"

"Yeah, you hungry after all that shit?" I asked.

"Yes, I am!" Mathilda replied.

"Oh, Alex – make sure you wash your hands before breakfast!"

I had seen where his hands had been, while he had been watching Mathilda.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Saturday_**

**_The House_**

"You look after yourself, Mathilda."

"I will Dave. Thanks, all of you."

"You need anything, you give us a call," I suggested.

"Thanks, Mindy. Err, about my, err, stuff."

"Almost forgot..."

I grabbed a large bag from behind the couch. "Here – all ready to go."

"Thanks for everything – I'll see you guys later."

Mathilda was well enough to go back to that school of hers. She had promised to stay in touch. To be honest, I would actually miss her. Maybe I could persuade her to work with us – she seemed to want my help, for training.

Mathilda, The Heir, could be a great asset to us.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Tuesday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

"You miss her, don't you?"

"A bit," Alex replied.

"Don't worry; Chloe's body will catch up!" I teased.

"You can be a complete asshole, Dave; you've been spending too much time with Mindy!"

"She was nice – I'll admit that, but I never got to see as much as you did!" I commented.

"Dave can I ask you a personal question," Alex asked, with a grin.

"You can ask, but I might not answer you," I laughed.

* * *

I heard something crashing to the floor and rushed out of the bedroom.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled.

The sight before me was, well, different! Alex was lying on his back and I could see blood on his face and chest, not to mention a bruise on his cheek. Dave was fuming and flexing his right hand. I walked over to Alex and looked down at the kid.

"What did you do?" I demanded.

"Why is it always assumed to be _my_ fault?" Alex retorted.

"Because it normally _is_ your fault."

I looked at Dave who just shook his head. "It was nothing."

"Okay!" I was _not_ by any stretch of the imagination, convinced and did not pursue it any further.

I really could not think of anything that could get Dave so riled up, but then Alex was not exactly known for his diplomacy!

* * *

**_Four days later  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

"What's going on?" Chloe asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"I mean, between Dave and Alex. Dave refuses to speak with Alex and Alex avoids Dave like the plague," Chloe explained. "Did Dave hit Alex? Alex won't say who almost broke his nose."

"Yes, Dave smacked him, but I never saw it happen, nor do I know what it was about," I admitted. "I suggest that you just drop it."

* * *

I had the feeling that Mindy was getting annoyed with me.

Nevertheless, dammit, I was not about to let Alex off with talking like that: _'Are you and Mindy having sex?'_

Who the fuck did he think I was? I would _never_ do something like that; Mindy was thirteen for fuck's sake and I was sixteen. I could _not_ believe that the British twat had had the fucking _nerve_ to ask about that! I was sure that if he had asked that question in front of Mindy, she would have fucking killed him.

Nevertheless, I had to work with the kid.

* * *

"Mindy, do you mind if it's just me and Alex going out tonight?"

I considered the question. Normally, I would have said that yes, I did mind. However, in light of what ever had occurred between the two of them, they obviously needed to talk, alone. On second thoughts, maybe Alex being alone with Dave was not a very good idea, but again, I trusted Dave – so no problems there.

"Knock yourself out!"

* * *

**_That night_**

**_Brooklyn Bridge_**

I stopped under the bridge and sat down while Swipe did the same.

The kid had been very apprehensive, ever since I had suggested that Mindy stay at The House.

"I am not going to hit you again."

"That's good to know."

"How could you ask such a question?"

"I'm sorry, Dave – I just jumped to the totally wrong conclusion. I honestly thought that you two might have been... Well, you know!"

"You know why I hit you, don't you?"

"Yes – I deserved it."

"Mindy is only thirteen – she has barely started puberty and you thought that me, a sixteen-year-old, would be fucking her?"

"Obviously not!"

"I see Mindy as a younger sister – I know Mindy might have other ideas; hence that naked prank, the other month, with Chloe!"

"That was what kind of gave me the idea that you two... Never mind!"

The boy looked very uncomfortable. I laughed.

"So – no more talk about Mindy and me?"

"No more talk about Mindy and you!"

"Let's go get some Criminal scum!"

* * *

I was glad _that_ little episode was over!

Not the first time that my mouth had gotten me into trouble and most probably not the last, either. I was very unhappy about upsetting Dave – I had been _very_ stupid and I just hoped that Mindy would never find out!

"Swipe!"

"Kick-Ass!"

"You with me?"

"Of course!"

"We have incoming!"

I drew my baton and moved to Kick-Ass' left side as he himself drew his own batons. Ahead of us, stood seven men. All of whom were armed, with vicious looking blades, all of various types and lethality.

They charged!

* * *

This was going to be a challenge!

I beat back the first pair of men, using my armour and batons to good effect. The blades were sharp and I had to do everything I could to stop them making contact anywhere that mattered. I could see Swipe doing his utmost to battle two men simultaneously, but he was holding his own.

I clubbed down the first man who had attacked me, then took a moment to stow my right baton and I seized up the man's discarded machete.

I needed a real weapon and not a baton!

* * *

That was hard work – maybe all that shit which Mindy had put me through was worth it!

So far, I had dropped one man and was struggling with the next. I could see a prone body at the feet of Kick-Ass, while he fought another pair. Then, I was surprised as an arm went flying when Kick-Ass severed it with an appropriated machete. Not a bad idea!

I dropped my baton and seized up what looked to be a combat machete, from the man I had previously dropped. That gave the two men that I was fighting, pause for thought and they started to get wary. I pushed forwards, using my armour to deflect a blade that came down towards me and I then swung the machete horizontally, into the abdomen of the attacker. He screamed and blood spilled onto the street. The man dropped to his knees, grasping his stomach to prevent his guts from spilling out.

The next man stepped back as the last man, stepped forwards with a pistol in his hand and aimed at my head.

"Both of you – STOP!" He yelled.

I froze, as did Kick-Ass, but only for a moment.

Things went south, very fast.

For the man!

* * *

The man froze and then braced up as a blade appeared out of the front of his chest, like the alien from Alien.

Never thought I would see that for a second time – only right there on the street, I was _not_ shitting myself! I smiled; I knew what was coming, although Swipe did not! Everything had gone quiet and I heard Swipe's exclamation.

"What the fuck!"

The blade was withdrawn, sending a shudder through the man who dropped his pistol and then dropped to his knees before finally falling to his face on the blacktop.

"You miss me!" The smirking Hit Girl growled, flipping her bō-staff in a menacing fashion.

"Not really!" I replied, striking down the final man, before me as Swipe did the same with his man.


	31. Everything Changes

**Author's Note: **_This is not the original version of Chapter 31. That version was pulled and this is the replacement._

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

If that last fight had taught us anything, it had taught us that we needed melee weapons, such as swords and/or knives.

Mindy had tried to make out that she had saved the day, but Alex and I were having none of it!

"We were managing quite well, thank you, Mindy," Alex announced over breakfast.

"Yeah – we were doing fine till you showed up!" I quipped, receiving a nasty glare in return.

* * *

Okay, I admit it; I had been spying on them.

I had followed Kick-Ass and Swipe from a distance and to tell you the truth I wished that I had not followed them!

Alex had thought that Dave and I were... That Dave was sticking his... I had never actually considered any of that stuff. I felt embarrassed just thinking about it! Dave saw me as a younger sister. Was I happy with that? Okay, I fancied Dave and wanted him to be my boyfriend and sitting in his lap naked had been great fun, but did I want to actually, have sex with Dave? That would be a big step!

I could understand Dave's reaction to Alex's question – I would have killed the fucker! However, maybe the boy had a point, but I knew that Dave was far too chivalrous to do anything like that. Hell, I had shared a bed with him, several times and he had had plenty of opportunities to fuck me, but he did not and I respected him for that.

Mind you, I had been tempted to 'play' a couple of weeks earlier, but Dave had reacted rather badly to my insinuation that I had wanted him in me – not to mention my ass had hurt for almost a full day!

Thankfully, the appearance of Mathilda had distracted us both from that thorny issue and Dave had not mentioned it since, but he seemed to have forgiven me, nonetheless.

..._...

On the other hand, they had both fought really well and I had actually been reluctant to intervene, but decided to help for the last fucker, anyway.

Okay, I liked my entrances to look cool!

What was a Hit Girl to do?

* * *

**_The following week  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

"Okay you cunts!"

Chloe gave me a very sardonic look, as did Dave. Alex just grinned stupidly. I picked a pair of combat machetes, from the wall.

"Now, Dave and Alex need some melee weapons, as the other night proved. Both of you should be able to manage a pair of these combat machetes," I said. "They are lethal, so be careful."

"You know, I think she actually cares!" Alex quipped.

"Not really, it's just that blood is _such_ a pain in the ass to clear up!"

..._...

I took both Dave and Alex through key movements for both attack and defence. Most importantly, I showed them how to avoid injuring themselves with their own blades, which was a result that could prove embarrassing for all!

We spent a couple of hours on it, before I deemed everybody too tired to train safely.

"I want to carry on, Mindy," Alex said.

"No, it will be too dangerous; you are tired and you'll end up killing yourself."

"I am fine, Mindy; stop being so damn overprotective!"

"You want to be a vigilante with us, you follow _my_ rules you little fuck!" Mindy was getting testy.

"Go fuck yourself, Mindy – I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you very much!" Alexander yelled back at Mindy.

"You are a useless piece of worthless shit who would not last a fucking second on his own, out there in the real fucking world!"

* * *

**_Four days later  
Thursday_**

**_The House_**

"Where is he?"

"He said he needed to go out," Dave replied.

"What time was that?" I asked, thinking he had been gone a while.

"It was about one, this afternoon."

I checked the clock on the wall; it was past five o'clock and I was worried. Alex knew to check in, so we knew where he was. That was when my cell rang. It was Alexander!

"What the fuck have I told you...?"

Alex cut me off.

"Car park, fourth and eighth; please forgive me, Mindy!"

The call dropped.

'What the fuck?' I thought staring at the phone.

"Problem?" Dave asked, reading my expression.

"He's done something, no idea what – fourth and eighth is all he said."

* * *

**_Intersection of Fourth and Eighth Streets_**

We left the taxi and looked around us.

There was a sign pointing to a parking lot. We headed in the direction that the sign indicated, down an alleyway and into the parking lot. Talk about Deja-vu; it was like that parking lot, where I had been stabbed on my first outing as Kick-Ass.

"Dave!" Mindy almost screamed.

I followed Mindy and saw that she was running towards a prone form on the blacktop of the parking lot. It was almost like seeing myself; he lay there, on his back, with a knife protruding from his stomach.

..._...

The only good thing was that Dr Bennett had not been all that far away when we had called.

"Dammit, Alex?" Mindy said as she tried to stem the flow of blood with her sweatshirt.

"Dave, get him in the back of the car," Dr Bennett ordered.

* * *

**_That evening_**

**_The House_**

Alex was in his bedroom, where Dr Bennett was cleaning him up.

The knife had missed everything vital, which was a damned miracle, and the boy would recover, but he would have a wicked scar. He had not regained consciousness yet; Dr Bennett was keeping him sedated until she had finished her work.

I ensured that Dr Bennett retained the knife as evidence and it was placed in a sterile plastic bag to be passed to Marcus at the earliest opportunity.

I had insisted that Mindy stay downstairs, with Chloe.

* * *

**_Downstairs_**

"Mindy? Are you crying?"

"No!" Mindy retorted. "Of course not!"

"You care for the boy, don't you Mindy?"

"Of course, I don't!"

That sounded like the purest bullshit!

"Then why are you crying?" I persisted.

"_I don't know_!" Mindy insisted sounding a little panicked.

I looked into Mindy's eyes as the tears spilled over and down her cheeks. Damn, she really did not know why she was crying; she was unable to stop herself, either.

"You are worried for Alexander, Mindy... Do not interrupt! It's not a weakness; it just shows that you are human... Despite how to try to portray yourself."

..._...

"Chloe's right, Mindy," Dave acknowledged coming into the room. "You are the hard hitting Hit Girl, the biggest bad-ass... Well, biggest _shortest_ bad-ass out there, but in here you are just Mindy Macready and you can be the girl that I know you want to be."

"Yeah, when you are in this house, around us, you can hang up your balls!" I added.

Mindy laughed for second or two and then went back to sobbing.

"Why was he out there, in that part of town?" Mindy asked, between sobs.

Chloe looked at Dave, who nodded.

"Alex felt bad about talking back to you the other day. He's been searching for something to make up for it," I explained. "He found you this, he had it on him."

* * *

Chloe passed over a purple box that was barely a foot long.

Mindy's hands actually shook as she took the box and gently removed the lid. Inside was a single, purple rose; it was artificial, but otherwise perfect.

"He wanted you to have something 'girly', something to show how much you meant to him. He sees you as his little sister."

"He's a month older than me!" Mindy declared indignantly before going back to staring at the rose

"Is it safe to hug you, without getting my arms broken?" Chloe asked with a smirk.

"Keep up the smart comments and I'll cut out your fuckin' tongue!" Mindy said but nodded her acceptance.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Friday_**

**_The House_**

I awoke in a lot of pain.

"You're a fucking idiot, you know that don't you?"

"What?" I groaned.

I looked around and found myself in my own bed. A very angry looking Mindy was gazing down at me.

"Am I about to get another bloody bollocking?"

Then Mindy surprised the fuck out of me! I braced myself as she bent down towards me, expecting to be slapped, but instead she gave me a kiss on the cheek!

"Thank you for the rose; you are forgiven, Alexander," Mindy whispered before receding and I saw that she had gone very, very pink. She said one more thing before she left the room. "Don't get any further ideas – that was a one off!"

I felt a little put out by that, nevertheless a kiss was better than a slap.

"She's right; you _are_ an idiot!" Chloe said with a laugh.

"Thanks for your support," I said before falling back to sleep.

* * *

Alex was actually smiling as he fell asleep!

I had a momentary burst of jealousy, but it subsided quickly. I knew Mindy was not interested in Alexander; Mindy had bigger fish to fry, mainly of the Kick-Ass variety!

Alexander was mine, all mine.


	32. A Fresh Start

**_The following afternoon  
Saturday_**

**_Central Park_**

"Why are we meeting on a damn park bench?"

"Get with it, Marcus!" I insisted. "It's conspiratorial!"

"So what am I going to risk my pension for, now?" Marcus demanded.

I rolled my eyes and surreptitiously passed him a brown envelope.

"Oh for goodness sake, Mindy!" Marcus groaned in an exasperated tone, seizing the envelope.

"It's a knife. The knife was used to stab my friend; he's alive, but I need a name..."

"Mindy, you cannot do this..."

"The hell I can't!" I growled. "Marcus, I need a name; right the fuck now!"

There was a significant pause before Marcus responded.

"Okay, I'll send it over to you," Marcus acceded, and then paused before continuing. "This boy means a lot to you?"

I looked Marcus in the eye. "Yes, Marcus, he does and I need to make it right."

"Give me a couple of days."

* * *

**_Two days later  
Monday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

"Mindy, will you calm the fuck down?"

"I want my revenge!" Mindy growled.

"You can rip out his throat and drink his blood; just calm the fuck down!"

Mindy had been getting more and more, over-excited ever since Marcus had sent over the name and address of the man who had stabbed Alexander. Alex had been able to tell us what had happened, during one of his more lucid moments.

"I had just been to the shop and got the item. I took a shortcut behind some shops, up an alley..."

"First stupid mistake," Mindy growled, interrupting Alexander.

"Mindy, let him finish!" I said.

"A guy was getting mugged, so I thought that I could help; only they got the drop on me and left that knife in my stomach!" Alex finished.

"Could have been worse!" I said.

"How the bloody hell could it have been worse, Dave?" Alex moaned.

"You could have been hit by a car!"

"Like anybody would be so unlucky as to be hit by a car just after being stabbed!" Chloe said sarcastically.

"It could happen..." I insisted

Chloe's face suddenly lit up with understanding.

"You mean – you... That happened to you?" Chloe was laughing.

Mindy nodded, trying not to laugh.

"At the time it was _not_ very funny; it hurt like fuck!"

"So does this!" Alex said gripping his stomach and trying desperately not to laugh.

Mindy loved the story of the end of Kick-Ass 1.0 and just burst out laughing along with Chloe.

..._...

"Mindy, we are planning this; you are _not_ going in half-clocked like last time!" I told the obstinate vigilante.

"But he's just a cunt?" Mindy moaned.

"We plan this – you get me, Mindy Macready?"

I saw Mindy's eyes flare with intense anger, but then her shoulders slumped and she scowled.

"I hate to say it, but you're fucking right!" Mindy moaned. "I hate it when Kick-Ass is right!"

* * *

**_Two days later  
Wednesday night_**

**_Queens_**

Mindy's 'cunt', as she called him, lived on the fifth floor of an apartment block in Queens.

We had scouted the apartment block on the previous day and that day. The man, in his early twenties, lived on his own but had a friend who came around regularly.

"Everybody ready?" I asked over the comms.

"Ready!" Hit Girl replied.

"Ready!" Haze replied.

"Remember, nobody touches my cunt," Hit Girl growled.

"I wouldn't even think of touching your cunt, Hit Girl!" I chuckled.

"Oh fucking grow-up, Ass-Kick!" Hit Girl said savagely.

I did hear a slight chuckle though.

* * *

Hit Girl went up the fire escape first.

She was followed by Haze and then myself. I was a little worried, as I had not seen Hit Girl that focussed since that night at the Safehouse, just before she assaulted the D'Amico Penthouse and I vividly remembered how badly that had gone!

I drew my batons, ready for action. Haze had her bō-staff poised, as did our purple leader. We reached the fifth floor rather quicker than I thought we would; maybe it was all the adrenalin pumping through our veins. After a brief peek through the curtain-less window, Hit Girl raised her left hand with five fingers extended, and then she dropped each finger in turn, counting us down.

As the last finger of her gauntleted hand fell, Hit Girl launched herself through the window, sending glass and wood flying across the room inside.

..._...

As expected, there were only two men present, both of whom we recognised from photos taken by Mindy, earlier. While Haze took custody of the second man, I grabbed hold of our primary target, Peter Sharp. Hit Girl was flexing her hands around her bō-staff; to be honest I had absolutely no idea what she was going to do.

"Did you have anything to do with the stabbing the other day?" Hit Girl asked the second man, who blanched and shook his head vigorously. He was telling the truth and by the looks of his pants, he had pissed himself. Not exactly a hardened criminal!

Hit Girl nodded at me and I cracked him around the head; he fell to the ground unconscious. We had agreed that if he were innocent then he should not have to see what was about to happen.

"What the fuck do you fucking psychos want?" Sharp demanded.

"I want you and I want you to die... Slowly, ever so slowly..." Hit Girl growled with a smile on her face that must have scared the man; it was scaring me!

I knew that we did not have a lot of time, so we needed to be quick. That went against what Hit Girl really wanted to do to the man; however that was just the way, it had to be.

"You almost killed somebody very close to me; that was a mistake!" Hit Girl growled ominously, circling Sharp.

The man was now starting to get worried; he was sweating and I could see nervousness in his face.

"Strip!" Hit Girl growled.

* * *

The man did not move.

"I said, strip, cunt!" Hit Girl said again, this time driving her fist into the left side of the man's abdomen.

"Okay, okay!" The man called out.

Minutes later, the man was naked and strapped to a convenient metal chair. I really did not want to see this and I was certain Haze did not either. The man was secure, so I took Haze into the other room, dragging the unconscious man with us. As we left, Hit Girl was stuffing Sharp's shorts into his mouth as a makeshift gag.

Despite the gag, I could still hear the man's pitiful moans and attempts to seek sympathy from Hit Girl.

"I am Hit Girl; you will serve me by dying. Resistance is futile."

My morbid curiosity caught up with me and I forced myself to watch from the doorway. The man screamed as first one, and then another short bladed throwing knife was driven into each leg, a few inches above the knees. Blood started running down the man's trembling legs and then fall to the floor.

Hit Girl drove her bō-staff into the man's bare, right foot and through into the wooden floorboards beneath. She left it there while she drive her right fist into the area between the man's legs, causing the man to brace up and scream into his gag. I was struggling to watch what was happening and I could feel nausea building up in my stomach. I looked behind me and saw Haze with her hands over her ears.

I stepped forwards and rested a hand on Hit Girl's right shoulder. She stopped moving, looked up at me and nodded. I stood back as Hit Girl yanked out her bō-staff and drove the blade into the man's stomach, exactly where Alexander had been stabbed. She withdrew the blade and then pushed it slowly into the man's heart, cutting the organ in half.

The man stopped shaking and screaming.

The only noise was the blood dripping onto the floor.

* * *

We left the apartment very fast, the same way that we had entered.

Hit Girl never said a word on the way back to the Safehouse. I tried to talk to Kick-Ass, but he was not in a very talkative mood at that moment. I knew that Hit Girl would be vicious with her revenge, nevertheless it was a shock and I had been appalled by the lengths that she had gone to, with killing that man.

Yes, the man had deserved to die for what he had done to Alexander and I fully agreed with that. I had thought that Hit Girl might have just killed him, but torture was not what I had expected.

"You okay, Hit Girl?" I asked as we entered the Safehouse.

Hit Girl turned to me and she smiled.

"Yes, Chloe, I am."


	33. Darkness Falls

**_The following morning  
Thursday_**

We all returned to the house early the following morning.

Mindy had been in rather a strange mood since returning to the Safehouse. It was a happy mood; she was pleased with the result although I could tell that she wished she had had more time with the guy.

Chloe had not been amused by what she had witnessed, however, she told me that she was glad it had been done and the man had been made to suffer, for Alexander's sake. I heard her during the night; Chloe had had a vicious nightmare that night.

"So, did you enjoy playing with your cunt?" I had asked Mindy

"Dave, that joke is _so_ not funny!" Mindy replied with a smirk.

* * *

**_The House_**

Erika was waiting for us when we arrived.

"Has the patient been well behaved?" I asked.

"Like fuck, he has; he's driven me around the bend!" Erika moaned.

"So, he's getting back to normal then!" Chloe laughed.

Erika just scowled.

"Thanks for looking after the brat," Mindy said seriously.

"No problem, just don't ask me to do it too often!"

* * *

"Tell me what happened?"

"Alex, you really do _not_ want to know!" I said seriously and to be honest, I was still a little freaked out by what I had witnessed.

"But the dick died?"

"He died… Eventually..."

"Oh, I see..." Alexander replied darkly. "Good!"

"Yeah, it shook me up a bit, but I'm glad Mindy did it."

Alex said nothing for a few minutes.

"How are you feeling?" I asked

"Sore, fucking sore, Chloe!"

"Well, hopefully that will teach you not to do something so stupid... No matter how well meaning!"

* * *

**_Three weeks later  
Thursday Afternoon_**

**_The Bennett House, Long Island_**

The day had one good, one bad and then another good thing happen.

The first good thing? Well for Chloe at any rate!

We now had another teenager in our midst, which Chloe thought was 'fucking awesome'! She was still the youngest, as both Mindy and Alexander were rapidly approaching fourteen.

We were well away from the City, in Long Island at the house that belonged to the Bennett family and it was their home during the summer months when they could make use of the outdoor swimming pool.

Right at that moment, Mindy and Chloe were screaming and having a water fight, while Alexander watched, a little annoyed as he was forbidden from over stressing himself in case he tore open his wound, however he could still swim, carefully! Me? I was suffering the barrage of questions from an annoying shit called Curtis, who just happened to be Chloe's cousin and a couple months younger than Chloe, at twelve.

Chloe despised the boy and to tell you the truth, I could see why. I was fed up with the idiot, so I just kicked him into the pool, where Chloe and Mindy pretended to drown the kid, although I was not entirely sure how much pretence there was in Chloe's actions!

Curtis, of course, had absolutely no idea of what his cousin got up to at night.

* * *

As for the other good thing?

After asking Dr Bennett's permission, Mindy had bought Chloe a present, which was currently waiting at the Safehouse for the weekend.

While Curtis was staying, Chloe had to be careful about what she did and said. Both Mindy and I, not to mention her Mom, had warned Chloe not to injure her cousin, 'accidentally' or otherwise!

It actually felt good to be able to unwind as we were that day. Mindy especially needed it and Dr Bennett had said so in confidence one evening. Mindy was pushing herself too much and I was worried about her, but the little bitch would not allow Dr Bennett to check her over, as I was certain that the girl had received some injuries a week previously, during a scuffle with some City low life.

Mindy could be one stubborn bitch when she wanted to be!

* * *

**_Two days later  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse C_**

Downstairs in the Safehouse there were now several motorcycles.

Beside Dave's green and yellow Ducati Multistrada motorcycle and my, now redundant, small Honda were two new motorcycles. One was purple and it was mine, all mine – _my precious_! It was a Ducati Multistrada identical to Dave's machine. Now Dave was very concerned about me killing myself on the powerful beast, but he finally gave up trying to change my mind. Parked beside my new machine was another Ducati, this time a...

Damn!

Chloe almost ruptured my fucking eardrum as she shrieked at the sight of the Ducati Hyperstrada that was painted predominately in a dark grey with lighter grey highlights. Sitting on the seat was a Grey full-face helmet.

"Mindy, I could fucking kiss you...!"

"Please don't – people may just get the wrong idea!" I replied edging away from the crazed girl.

Dave laughed.

"So, by the ear-splitting shriek, I assume you like it," Dave said, with his finger in his ear.

"Dave, you two are fucking awesome!"

"I know!" I laughed. "We just can't help it!"

* * *

**_Two days later  
Monday_**

How much shit could the proverbial fan actually take before it exploded?

Right at that moment I felt like the entire sewer system of New York City was dumping directly into our fan. We had gone out, just the three of us: Kick-Ass, Hit Girl and Haze. No Swipe as he was still not ready.

We had been over five miles from the Safehouse when we were ambushed. We had already hidden the three motorcycles; the riding of my own, I had enjoyed so much that my shorts were actually damp!

Of all the people, it could be when there were only three of us; it just had to be that jumped up tosser.

..._...

"Motherfucker!" Kick-Ass announced angrily.

"Oh, fuck!" I responded.

"My best friends?" A voice called out. "So good of you to come!"

The crowd of wacked out fuckers parted to allow their dubiously named boss to show himself. He was smirking, as fucking usual.

"Chris D'Amico!" Kick-Ass sneered loudly.

"That is _not_ my name!" Chris D'Amico growled angrily. "You will call me the Mother Fucker!"

"No, I won't!" Kick-Ass retorted. "That name is so lame I won't lower my standards by using it."

Kick-Ass laughed and I saw Chris D'Amico scowl at my partner's expression. Haze was smirking too, but Kick-Ass; he was still flexing his hands in anger, despite his attempts at joviality! As before, I could not take the guy seriously; the dick was still wearing the assorted items of bondage gear that made up his 'supervillain' costume!

I knew that Kick-Ass did not seem to see the outlandish costume – he just saw the man – the man solely responsible for the death of my Daddy and most probably Dave's Dad, too.

"Hey, little girls!" D'Amico called over, waving at Haze and myself. "I see you have another girl to fuck; Kick-Ass – you bad boy!"

A single knife flew through the air; it had come from Haze and it missed Chris D'Amico by a whisker.

"Now, now!" Chris called. "That is no way to treat a friend!"

"Friend!" Kick-Ass yelled. "Not if you were the last amoeba on earth!"

"Now that hurts..."

"Fuck this!" I yelled and ran forward, drawing the twin Wakizashi blades from my back.

Kick-Ass drew his own Ko-Wakizashi swords and charged after me, with Haze brandishing her bō-staff.

…+…

_Hold on!_

_Hit Girl has twin Wakizashi blades? When did Kick-Ass get swords? Have we missed something?_

* * *

After the ass kicking that Hit Girl had insisted she had 'rescued' us from, almost five weeks previously, I had sat down with Mindy and we had looked into melee weapons for Alexander and myself. Naturally, Little Miss Jealousy just _had_ to have her own swords, too! Ultimately, we had ordered some cutting edge (pun intended) battle-ready swords.

For Swipe, we had bought a twenty-four-inch, Ninja-To sword. For now, he had not been able to train with it, but had learnt the theory behind using the vicious blade while he was stuck recuperating.

For her viciousness, we had bought a pair of actually very awesome and very lethal Wakizashi swords. Mindy had considered full Katana swords, but then decided that they would be too unwieldy until she had grown a bit. The Wakizashi were shorter, but just as lethal. In this case, the sharp, mono steel blade was made from high carbon (T10) steel, with a 1.76 Shaku, Long Hi and 0.8-centimetre Sori. The blade was finished with a straight Hamon and had been stone polished by hand. The point was a long O-Kissaski. The Habaki and Seppa were Red Copper. The blade was attached to a twenty-four-centimetre Tsuka that was wrapped in a purple cotton Tsuka-ito with black ray-skin. The Tanto was finished off with black Fuchi, Kashira and Tsuba. The blade was housed in a matte black Saya, with purple highlights. The Koikuchi and Kirigata were wood and the Sageo was purple silk.

For me, I had selected a pair of Ko-Wakizashi swords. These were shorter than Mindy's, but would not be my primary weapon, unlike hers. In my case, the sharp, mono steel blade was made from high carbon (T10) steel, with a 1.52 Shaku, no Hi and 1-centimetre Sori. The blade was finished with a straight Hamon and had been stone polished by hand. The point was a long O-Kissaski. The Habaki and Seppa were Red Copper. The blade was attached to a 16.5-centimetre, Battle Wrapped, Tsuka which was wrapped in a green cotton Tsuka-ito with black ray-skin. The Ko-Wakizashi was finished off with black Fuchi, Kashira and Tsuba. The blade was housed in a matte black Saya with green and subdued yellow highlights. The Koikuchi and Kirigata were wood and the Sageo was of green silk.

We had trained three solid weeks to learn how to use the new blades and now they were about to be blooded.

* * *

Hit Girl appeared to vanish into the cunts, slashing left to right with her blades.

I tried to follow but I was headed off by a large, leather clad cunt brandishing a nailed club. I sidestepped his swipe and drove a blade into his stomach. The blade cut through cleanly and without any resistance. I pulled the blade clear and the cunt dropped to the ground, a pool of red blood spreading around the corpse.

"Cool!" Haze cried as she leapt over the body and slashed at a cunt with her bō-staff.

I looked around wildly, I had lost sight of Hit Girl and for some reason, I started to panic, but I knew that she could take care of herself. Nevertheless, I felt something inside of me change when I lost sight of her. I charged into the crowd of cunts, heading for the loudest noise, which had to be Hit Girl.

* * *

I was having the time of my life!

The new swords were just so me, just as Dave had said! They sliced through flesh and bone without a moment's hesitation. I was covered with sprays of blood from the severed heads; I had removed two, not to mention several legs. I had decided to test out the blades on different limbs, just to see which worked best!

The cunts were screaming, but they were not all screams of fear. Chris D'Amico seemed to have done well, with his choice of henchmen. The cunts could fight and fight well. Maybe the dick had some brains after all!

I suddenly caught sight of Chris D'Amico as he was being shielded by his minions. I turned and ran towards him, slicing anything that got in my way.

D'Amico turned and saw me running towards me. Strangely, he did not turn and run like the yellow cunt he was.

No, Chris D'Amico just smiled at me.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_I hope I have described Mindy and Dave's new Wakizashi and Ko-Wakizashi Swords accurately. Describing the sword's features in English did not do them justice, so I used the Japanese terms, for what I see as very powerful weapons and which deserve respect. For those who do not know about Katana, Wakizashi and Ko-Wakizashi Swords, I will explain some of the terms described:_

_The Shaku is a traditional measurement – 1.00 is approximately 30-centimetres.  
The Hi is a groove at the top of the blade.  
The Sori is the curvature of the blade.  
The Hamon is a pattern created by heat-treating the blade.  
The Kissaski is the type of tip at the end of the sword. O being the biggest.  
The Habaki keeps the sword from falling out of the scabbard (Saya).  
The Seppa are installed top and bottom of the hand guard (Tsuba).  
The Tsuka is the hilt or handle.  
The Tsuka-ito us a material used to wrap the handle or hilt.  
The Fuchi is a hilt collar between the Tsuka and the Tsuba.  
The Tsuba is a hand guard.  
The Kashira is a butt cap or pommel on the end of the Tsuka.  
The Saya is the wooden scabbard for the blade.  
The Koikuchi is the mouth of the Saya.  
The Kirigata is a knob on the side of the Saya for attaching the Sageo.  
The Sageo is the cord used to tie the Saya to a belt._

_If any of the above is incorrect, please let me know and I will correct the mistakes._


	34. Haze Into Darkness

**Author's Note:** _Please be warned that this chapter includes smut and behaviour that could be seen as indecent and salacious, including words or insinuations of a dubious, unseemly or suggestive nature!_

_One a more serious note; there are also scenes that some readers may find somewhat disturbing._

* * *

**_Monday night  
New York City_**

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl had seemingly vanished.

I was alone in the fight, not that I was having any trouble fighting, but it worried me. I was still new to fighting and this fight seemed to be growing as more and more people appeared. That D'Amico dick had many supporters, but I was determined to shrink them down some.

I whirled my bō-staff around in the way that Mindy had taught me, and which looked very cool! That attracted the attention from some cunts, who turned towards me. As the adrenalin pushed away any fear, I drove forwards.

As I dropped the two cunts blocking my way, I was able to see D'Amico running into a building followed by Hit Girl and then a minute later by Kick-Ass. Then just minutes later, I heard a bellow, which sounded like Kick-Ass and I was immediately worried that something bad had happened.

I ran towards the building, felling anybody who tried to stop me.

* * *

The building was derelict, and it looked like only the dust and cobwebs were holding it together.

I had seen that bastard go into the building and I was going to find him. I was not stupid enough to assume anything, but I guessed that it was, most probably, a trap. There he was, just twenty yards away, and then he stopped and turned towards me.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you, you bastard!" I yelled.

"You've got to catch me first, you lesbian bitch!" The Mother Fucker laughed.

I should not have allowed myself to be goaded so easily, but that cunt made my blood boil and I just reacted. I bolted forwards, raising my swords, when out of the corner of my eye I caught movement as the walls on both sides of me exploded into the corridor and then the floor beneath me vanished and I felt like a cartoon character as I flailed in mid-air before I dropped.

The last thing I saw was that bastard grinning.

* * *

As I ran through the door to the derelict building, I saw a flash of purple vanish to the right.

I followed, but before I could reach the corner there was an explosion, two in fact and a large cloud of dust and crap billowed out of the corridor. I was horror-struck; Hit Girl, Mindy, she was down there! I started to panic; I could not lose the only person who meant anything to me.

I reached the corridor and choked on the smoke as I peered into the darkness that was the interior of the building.

"Hit Girl!" I yelled out, but heard nothing but falling masonry in reply.

I edged forwards, feeling the ground with my feet, gingerly feeling for a body. Everything bad was racing through my mind. Was my girl, dead? That was a first; thinking of Mindy as being 'my girl'! She _was_ '_my girl'_ and I _was_ going to find her.

"Lost your fucking partner, Kick-Ass?"

I stared into the dust as it started to clear and ahead of me, I saw him, gloating over whatever had happened to Hit Girl.

Not again – he was _not_ going to fuck things up again!

* * *

My head span as I opened my eyes.

I choked on the dust and looked around me, but I could see nothing but darkness. Above me, I could hear voices. Quite a way above me, too. I must have fallen a few stories, into the basement of the derelict building. Then I noticed that I was not actually on the ground, I was hanging in mid-air by my utility belt, which supported almost my entire weight. I also found myself upside down, with my head pointing into the unknown darkness below.

Then I heard a yell from above me, and something very black plummeted past me, followed by a louder yell and something green and yellow.

"Kick-Ass!" I yelled as my best friend fell past me. "No!"

He saw me and I felt so much relief, which was immediately stripped away from me as he fell to what my trained mind said, could only be his death. I struggled to release my belt and with a loud crack, I fell. I only fell a few metres before landing on something solid, which was _not_ concrete.

The object grunted.

* * *

D'Amico's minions had vanished and I was alone.

I headed into the warehouse, looking for danger, which I knew had to be there. I walked down a dark passageway before my way was blocked by the entire floor being missing. I retraced my steps and found a staircase. I opted to head downwards.

The stairs were concrete and seemed solid, but I took extra care as I went down four floors and I knew that I was now below ground level. On the fifth sub-level, I heard a scuffling noise and turned on my flashlight that I had removed from my utility belt.

"Is now _really_ the right time!"

In front of me was a purple, yellow and green pile that seemed to be mauling itself. Hit Girl was lying on top of Kick-Ass, who was lying on his back amongst the rubble.

"I thought he was dead," Hit Girl said simply.

"She landed on top of me and she's heavy!" Kick-Ass groaned.

"You want me to leave you in darkness or do you want help?" I growled, covering up my embarrassment at seeing them kissing.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

Dave dragged me towards the bedrooms, ignoring the strange and concerned look from Chloe as she began to pull off her combat suit.

I was actually giggling with anticipation as we went. We vanished into the bedroom, slamming the door. All sorts of thoughts and emotions were running through my mind as I pulled off my mask and wig, allowing my hair to fall loose down my back. Dave pulled off his own mask and he looked down at me.

"Mindy, I was so scared for you when you went missing. I have no idea why, but I just freaked out and had to go after you."

"I felt the same when I saw you fall past me..."

Dave leant forwards and I took a deep breath; I tingled with the anticipation.

Then he kissed me.

It was my first kiss and it felt _so_ unbelievable, it was out of this world. I felt like I was hovering in mid-air. I forgot everything and just felt his lips on mine; it seemed to go on for hours. Then our lips parted and I felt as if I could not breathe without being connected, so I kissed him back and felt a surge of emotions beginning between my legs and moving rapidly like a wave of heat up my body and to my chest, which tingled constantly.

My stomach felt light, like I was on a rollercoaster and I felt a warm, damp, pleasant feeling in my knickers. I kissed Dave harder and he reciprocated. I felt more strange feelings deep down in my stomach and I started to feel wetter between my legs. I kept kissing and then I felt Dave's hands pulling off my combat suit. I started to do the same with his. I was getting desperate and very, very aroused.

What, the hell we must have looked like, two heavily armed and armoured individuals kissing and making out, especially as there was just over nine-inches of height difference! Items of armour and various weapons clattered to the floor followed by our jackets and utility belts, then our boots and trousers.

After several minutes, I was down to my shorts and t-shirt, while Dave was down to his shorts. I ran my hands over his bare chest and muscular stomach, and then I almost screamed as Dave's hand rubbed against my chest and my very sensitive nipples that had never before been touched. I was desperate for skin on skin touch. I could not control myself any longer as I pulled off my t-shirt, almost ripping it; my bra quickly followed. Then finally, I had Dave's bare hand against my bare chest; I felt, I felt... I could not describe it...

My chest was rising and falling steadily as my heart started to beat at what felt like thousands of beats per second and my breathing quickened. There was a stronger pulse in my groin and I could feel actual moisture between my legs as I seized hold of Dave and threw him onto the bed, jumping on top of him and kissing him as hard as I could. I felt an ache between my legs that would not subside and I finally realised that it was not pain, it was an ache brought on by the desire to have Dave inside of me.

Only I was not ready for that, not yet.

I felt something hard rubbing against my thigh and I felt myself blushing at the knowledge that Dave was just as aroused as I was. How far was I going to take this? How far was Dave going to allow me to go?

"Fuck it!" I growled and then instantly regretted my choice of words as I looked at Dave and he laughed.

I slid downwards stopping with my legs each side of his left thigh. Resting there actually felt good. I tried to ignore the fact that my knickers were almost completely soaked. I stared down at the large shape that was plainly obvious within Dave's shorts. Dave smiled and nodded. I pulled at the waistband of the shorts and my eyes almost popped out. Wow! No book had prepared me for what I saw in front of me...

Dave eased his shorts down and I reached forwards, as I might reach for a live hand grenade. I giggled at the thought that Dave, like a hand grenade, was just as capable of exploding! Damn, it was smooth, velvety and very, very warm, almost hot to the touch. My knickers were now worse than soaked; it felt like I had pissed myself! I could not hold off any more and I seized Dave's right hand and stuck it down my shorts and into my soaking wet knickers.

I moaned and started to squirm as his hand moved gently through my pubic hair and then touched something very special. The feeling was intense and I could feel sharp jolts that originated where Dave was touching and ran to my brain via my breasts. I seized hold of Dave and started to rub him just as gently, paying particular attention to the tip. Dave was starting to squirm as I actually almost screamed, but stopped myself.

Dave had found somewhere that almost paralysed me every time that he touched it. I actually punched Dave twice on his left thigh as I worked through the raging sensations that surged through my body. Everything was completely new to me; but fucking hell, I was enjoying it!

I moved around to Dave's right side, slipping out of my shorts and knickers, as it was easier for him, then Dave started to squirm and he closed his eyes as he continued to caress me between my legs and I continued to caress him.

Then it happened.

"Holy, fuck!" I yelled, as something warm and gooey landed on my chest, stomach, thighs... Well everywhere!

Some had landed on my lips, I don't know what made me do it, but I licked it off and... Salty, yet satisfying! My hand was still gripping Dave and both were covered in the same gooey substance. I let Dave go and studied the substance as Dave continued...

I froze and then I screamed, loudly, as every muscle in my body tensed up and a sensation burst from my crotch and rocketed across my entire body spreading all the way to my toes, my hands, right to my the top of my head. I struggled to breathe as the sensation built and then subsided. I collapsed on top of Dave, compressing everything gooey between us.

It was several minutes before my breathing slowed enough for me to talk. I looked up at Dave, who smiled.

"Thank you, Dave."

There was a knock on the door.

"You guys finished yet, I'm hungry!" Chloe called out.

* * *

**_The House_**

"Good night was it?" I asked as they all arrived home.

"The best!" Mindy grinned, heading upstairs to bed.

"It was okay!" Dave added, following Mindy.

"It was disturbing on oh so many levels!" Chloe growled, blushing bright red and looking slightly freaked out.

* * *

It was not, entirely unexpected.

Mindy came in and locked the door before shamelessly wriggling out of her pyjamas and then without a moment's hesitation she scrambled into bed beside me, completely naked.

"Now for part two!" She declared.

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

"What about..."

"I'm on the pill, Dave, and have been for eight months. I want to feel you inside of me."

"It may hurt..."

"Story of my life; just fuck me, Kick-Ass!"

* * *

"You have to be kidding!"

"No, they're not!" I replied. "They did something at the Safehouse, no idea how far they went, though."

"You mean they are actually..."

"No idea... I don't really want to know, either!"

"I do!"

"You're a boy; _you_ would!" I replied indignantly before feeling a little cautious. Alexander was looking at me strangely. "What...?"

"How about..."

"_No way_!"

"Jeez, thanks! I know I'm an ugly bastard, but that was harsh!"

I felt myself blushing.

"I think you're very nice, Alexander, but I am not letting you stick anything inside me!"

"Wow stop right there! That is _not_ what I meant. I just thought that we could do more than just... You know, fondle through clothes..."

I felt relieved and more than a little tempted.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Tuesday_**

Breakfast was subdued that morning.

Mindy and Dave were continuously smirking at each other and Chloe was glowering at them. I was hesitant to say a word to anybody!

"What's up, Chloe?" Mindy asked with a smirk.

"Alexander got a bit carried away last night and my tits are sore!" Chloe retorted and I blushed. "Anyway, what about you two – I heard a certain cherry violently exploding, last night!"

I was impressed. Mindy barely blushed, but just smiled happily. Dave just grinned his usual dorky grin.

"So, what brought on all this carnal behaviour?" I asked tentatively.

Mindy explained about what had occurred the previous night. She included her feelings when she thought Dave was dead and Dave added his own feelings when he though D'Amico had killed Mindy.

"Just a lot of pent up emotions; they've been building for a while, now. Something had to give," Dave conceded.

"So, you two are now an item?" Chloe asked.

"We always have been..." Mindy said quietly.

* * *

**_That night_**

We all had some things that needed to be worked out of our systems and some good old-fashioned maiming, and killing seemed a good way to go about it!

There was a part of town, which was known, or rather notorious for, certain behaviour. That behaviour had one sentence in my book and my Katanas would carry it out! The blades had been scratched in the fight the previous night, but I had removed most of them and would remove the rest after the night's action.

We pulled up and hid the motorcycles in an alleyway. The building was guarded, but only by street hoods who were no match for us. I stepped out of the shadows and with two rapid movements, the two guards dropped to the ground, closely followed by their heads.

We moved into the building.

"We don't have long; Kick-Ass take this floor and watch for reinforcements, Haze take the top floor. I'll take the middle – move!"

* * *

It was a fucking whorehouse!

Except the place did not seem to have _any_ fucking morals. I stuck with Hit Girl to the next floor and then left her as I went up another flight of stairs. A man came running through the door towards the stairs. I cut him down with my bō-staff and continued through the door.

I looked into the rooms as I passed and was horrified by what I saw; some of the girls were not much older than I was, for fuck's sake, and some were noticeably younger! My anger was growing; each time I saw a man with a girl, they died. Two women died, too.

Most of the way down the main corridor; I entered the third to last room on the left. There was a man on the bed and he was actively fucking the girl that lay beneath him. His bare ass was thrusting backwards and forwards. He turned as I entered the room and his eyes went wide at the sight of me; I kicked him off the bed and the man rolled against the wall trying to cover his fully erect member. I then looked down at the girl on the bed.

She was spread-eagled, naked, dirty and seemingly oblivious to what was being done to her. Despite her hair being partly over her face, I thought I recognised the girl. Keeping my pistol aimed at the man, I moved closer and gently pushed the long, dark brown hair away from her face. Then I jumped back in shock and surprise; I did recognise the girl!

Her name was Natasha; the girl was about my own age, thirteen, and had gone missing about nine months previously.

I snapped.

..._...

I stormed over to the naked man, hauled him to his feet, and shoved him against the wall.

"You are going to be _so_ fucking sorry, bastard!" I growled and barely recognised my own voice; I was beyond furious.

The man spat in my face, so I drove a knife through the palm of his left hand, pinning him to the wall and then another knife through the palm of his other hand; he was pinned. I felt myself smiling insanely. I was in control of this fucker; I could do anything to him.

I had to avenge Natasha.

"I hope you enjoyed your last fuck; because it _was_ your last. Say goodbye to your dick!"

The man glared, but then he screamed as I reached down and brought another knife up vertically between his legs, emasculating the man. To stop him screaming I shoved the severed member and accessories into his mouth.

He gagged on the blood; he did not have long before he bled out fully, from between his legs. I placed a blood-soaked, gauntleted hand over his mouth and nose, holding it there. The man had no choice but to swallow and the appalled look on his face told me that he knew exactly what he was swallowing. I grinned at the man. The adrenalin was still pounding through me and I had never felt so alive.

The man soon passed out as the pool of blood grew on the floor. I turned back to the bed. The girl was still lying there, her legs spread, but she was stirring and she looked up at me.

"Who...?"

"Are you okay?" I asked, and the girl nodded.

I grabbed a blanket and covered Natasha up.

"We need to get you out of here!"

There was activity out in the passageway and I heard male voices that were not Kick-Ass. I peeked around the doorframe and saw two large men a few doors down. With Natasha trembling behind me, holding onto her blanket, I stepped out into the corridor and calmly shot both men in the head, two rounds each. I ignored the single bullet that struck my chest armour. I checked the final five rooms and killed three more men.

It was time to leave and the fire escape beckoned.

* * *

"What are we going to do for transport?" Kick-Ass asked when he saw Natasha.

"Leave the bikes; I'll hot wire a car and then I can drive us home!" Hit Girl growled, heading towards the parking lot.

"You can drive?" Haze asked.

"Of course!" Hit Girl replied as if it was a stupid question.

Haze looked at me and I nodded in the affirmative, remembering the Mist Mobile.


	35. Natasha

**_Tuesday night_**

**_Safehouse C_**

Kick-Ass and I helped Natasha into the Safehouse, while Hit Girl dumped the car.

The girl was operating on automatic; she did everything we asked like a robot. There was no concern for _where_ we had found her or indeed the state in which I had found her. I assumed that this was due to drugs and expected them to take a while to pass out of her system. For now, we laid her down on a bed and allowed her to sleep.

Then it was my turn to crack up.

* * *

I heard crying and sobbing.

At first, I thought it might be Natasha, but no, as I came out of the bedroom I found Chloe sitting on the floor at the edge of the mat. I went over and sat down beside her. She had removed her combat suit and sat in a t-shirt and shorts. The girl flinched slightly as I touched her shoulder.

"I cannot believe that I did that – I stabbed him and I cut off his..."

"You did well, Chloe. Much better than I could have expected considering the circumstances. You made that bastard suffer, but I also know what it cost you to do that."

"I was in full control; there was nothing that he could do. I enjoyed that power and I enjoyed what I did to him, making him swallow it... The anger I felt; maybe I was out of control..."

"You felt what I feel every time that I am faced by bastards just like that; you were very creative..." I admitted.

"Thank you, Mindy. I'm sorry for going to pieces; I just reacted, but now..."

"Don't think about it – you got Natasha out and that is all that matters."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in the City_**

**_The Autopsy Table_**

"Found it!"

"Oh good – it had to be somewhere; where did you find it?"

"Actually it was them, but never mind. He'd swallowed them after they were cut off."

"The man bled out – I've no sympathy for him, considering where he was found, but it must have stung a bit."

The other man laughed.

"The man did suffer as he died, which he obviously deserved; somebody was mighty pissed with him and I hope I never meet them when they are that angry!"

* * *

**_Friday morning (early hours)_**

**_Safehouse C_**

I awoke with a start.

I was in a warm, very soft bed. I could feel somebody next to me, which was normal, however, something felt different – I was no longer in that place. Then it struck me, my mind was functioning – that in itself was rare; they normally kept us drugged up constantly. I sat up and realised that I was naked and beside me was a sleeping girl – she seemed familiar.

I looked around the room; it was bare, but I could see some clothes on a chair and a door that was partially open. The window had a blind pulled down. It was dark, but light filtered in from a light outside the room. I needed to pee, desperately. I crept over to the door and peeked out. There was a bathroom visible to the right.

Once I had relieved myself, I looked into the bathroom mirror and almost flinched away; I had bruises on my face, neck, chest, stomach... I could not remember the last time that I had been this lucid. I left the bathroom and found myself in a small hallway that had four doors leading off it. One was the bedroom that I had found myself in. The next was the bathroom I had just left. Another door was directly ahead and I could hear snoring – so that had to be another bedroom.

To my right was another door, which was partially open. I stepped through it and gasped.

..._...

All around me was an amazing array of weapons. The main central feature was a large exercise mat, with a support pillar on each corner. Over to the left was a combination kitchen/diner, with a couch and a pair of desks with twin computers facing each other, the place was amazing.

"Quite a sight isn't it?"

I span around and found myself face to face with a young girl. She was a little shorter than I was and had long blonde hair that was currently tied back in a ponytail. She wore purple pyjamas and stood beside the door to the bedrooms.

"I'm sorry," I said and then remembering that I was naked, I tried to cover myself up.

"Just a minute..."

The girl vanished, but then reappeared with a large t-shirt and passed it to me. I put it on and found that it went almost to my knees.

"Thank you," I said quietly. It was the first time that I had been covered up in a while.

The girl moved to another wall and flicked on a light – enough to see, but not all of the lights, which would have dazzled us both.

"I'm Mindy and I know that you are Natasha – you fancy a coffee?" The girl asked, introducing herself.

"Yes, please," I replied, a little overwhelmed.

Mindy walked over to the kitchen, then after filling the kettle and switching it on, sat on the couch, and beckoned me to do the same.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" I asked the girl.

"Better – the drugs seem to have worn off..."

"Do you remember anything about last night?"

"No – I don't, sorry."

"Not a problem, Natasha – you're safe and that is what matters."

"My parents..."

"Chloe told me that they died, when you were taken..."

"Yes, I was forced to watch as they were killed... Chloe? Is she here?"

The girl started sobbing then and I did not know what else to do, but hug her tightly.

* * *

**_Friday morning_**

I awoke to find Mindy missing.

It had been an interesting night, but successful. I wondered out and into the bathroom. Next, I looked in on Chloe and the girl. The girl, Natasha, was not there. I headed for the kitchen and a much-needed coffee. I smiled as my eyes caught sight of the couch. Mindy and Natasha were both asleep with Natasha cuddling into Mindy.

Once the kettle was boiled, I made three coffees. I then carefully poked Mindy in the shoulder.

"That hurts asshole!"

"Coffee?"

"Yeah..."

Mindy slid out from under Natasha and headed for the bathroom. When she returned, I passed her a mug of coffee.

"Trouble last night?"

"She awoke and needed the bathroom; so did I. I found her in here. We sat down to talk," Mindy explained.

"I'm impressed, Mindy, that was very thoughtful of you."

"Ha, ha!" Mindy retorted. "I was a little out of my comfort zone, but I adapted. She's been through hell over the past nine months. She has lived in almost a dozen places in that time. Every place, she was raped. Just a little at first, to break her in, she was told. She has no idea if she's pregnant, but she told me that she hadn't had her first period by the time she was taken. I'm going to call Dr Bennett and get her to come and check Natasha out."

"A good idea."

* * *

Dr Bennett came out of the bedroom after well over an hour and sat down on the couch.

We were all eagerly awaiting her prognosis.

"Natasha is healthy, considering her ordeal. She is not pregnant – her late puberty helped there. I have sorted out her injuries, which are minor and will all heal over time. Currently, she is sleeping and I have given her something that should counteract any other drugs still in her system. I have some samples of blood, which I will have checked for anything worse – that may take a day or two. For now, she is a very lucky young girl."

"Thank you, Dr Bennett – it was a pure coincidence that we came across her and that it was Chloe who found her and recognised her," I explained.

"Is that right, Mindy? It was Chloe who found her being raped?"

"Yes, Mom – I walked into the room and saw this naked man fucking her – I lost control and killed the cunt," Chloe admitted looking very ashamed.

Dr Bennett ignored the bad language.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Chloe Bennett. I am proud of you for defending those who cannot defend themselves. It must have been one hell of a shock seeing that and recognising your own friend as the victim. Are you okay?"

"I talked to Mindy, last night – I was shocked about what I had done, but Mindy said I did the right thing. Men like that should not be allowed to live."

"Yeah, she got a little creative, too!" I added.

"Oh?" Dr Bennett asked.

Chloe flushed a deep red before responding.

"I cut off his dick and balls, and then I made him swallow them... I left him to bleed out..."

Dr Bennett smiled and then laughed.

"Well done, Chloe!" Dr Bennett said, hugging her daughter.

* * *

**_That evening_**

**_The House_**

"She cut off his cock and shoved it into his mouth!"

Alexander thought that was very cool – typically. We had introduced Natasha to Alexander and explained how we had come across her. Alex's face had steadily darkened as Chloe had told her story, but he had perked up when he had heard what Chloe had done to the man.

Mindy suggested that Natasha could use her bedroom for now as she was not using it. That comment had Chloe and Alex grimacing! Mindy, though, just stuck her tongue out at them both. I was used to having Mindy sleep with me, although her motives were dubious – we had not been intimate since that other night.

Natasha was feeling a little happier. Chloe and Mindy had gone shopping and bought her some new clothes, as she had none. The poor girl could not stop saying thank you! For now, she would stay with us until she was fully healed. Natasha and Chloe were best friends and that was helping greatly.

* * *

**_That night_**

I was not all that surprised to find Mindy already in bed that night.

She was smirking and a little pink in the face, which told me that she was naked under the duvet. I shrugged and saw her smile in anticipation as I dumped my shorts. The moment I was under the duvet, I felt Mindy's hands moving down my body. Considering her alter ego, she was actually very gentle and her hands were soft.

"You enjoying yourself?" I asked.

She did not reply as I tensed up – her mouth was very full...


	36. Revealing Haze

**_Two weeks later  
Wednesday_**

Natasha was healing, at least in the physical sense.

Dr Bennett had been round every few days to check up on her. For now though, she was an average thirteen-year-old girl. I was pleased that Chloe was her best friend; it would help Natasha to have somebody she knew, somebody that she could talk to about her problems. She also got on well with Alex, at least when he was not winding her up!

I enjoyed having another girl around, too. I enjoyed it when the three of us ganged up on the two boys! Many nights, I could hear Natasha crying in bed. Some nights, when Chloe stayed over, she would share the bed with Natasha to keep her company. I felt awful when I heard her cry – I had horrors in my past, a lot of them, but nothing as personal as what she was suffering.

I supposed that might have been why we connected so well.

..._...

One evening Natasha called me into what had been my room.

I sat on the bed.

"Mindy, you've been so good to me – I want to repay you for everything that you've done for me."

"There is no need, Natasha – it was Chloe that found you and rescued you..."

"But you offered me a home, people to talk to, people who understand..."

I felt a little uncomfortable – I hated talking 'feelings'!

"Can I join you, become part of your team – I promise I'll do anything that you ask – _anything_..."

"You should be careful using that word," I warned with a grin. "_Anything_ covers a lot in this place!"

"Will you consider it?"

"I'll talk with Dave... I'll see what we can do."

* * *

I spoke with Dave and he could not see a problem.

I had queried how much training she would need, but Dave shot me down there saying that he had started from nothing. That was true; Dave _had_ started from nothing!

We agreed that we needed to avenge Natasha.

Dave suggested that Natasha should be allowed to take part; he also suggested that it might help her healing process, from the mental point of view.

It sounded like a good idea, so I started planning an assault on the man behind those vile places. That man was going to die and die painfully and maybe publicly; that was a thought – a public execution – I would need to get creative!

I would also need to plan a training regimen for Natasha.

If she were to become a vigilante, she would also need a name...

* * *

It had to happen eventually.

Only, it was not how I would have chosen to do it. Curtis now knew who Chloe was; as in, he knew she was Haze! She should not have been armed with the pistol. If she had not had a pistol then our secret may not have been revealed! For a moment, I was mad about that; but then I relented. Without the pistol, Chloe could have been dead and so might Curtis.

Thankfully she had run, the moment she could, with Curtis in tow. I hoped that the Cops had no idea who she was; the pistol would have been very difficult to explain!

...+...

A few nights previously.

Curtis was in town and Chloe had taken him out, somewhat reluctantly, to the Mall. Only, on the way home, she had taken a wrong turn and they both found themselves in an undesirable part of the City, where it did not take long for them to attract some unwanted attention.

On one street, they found their way blocked by a scruffily dressed man.

"You look like you could be fun in the sack..." The man drawled eyeing up Chloe.

"Fuck you!" Chloe replied, aghast at the implication.

"Bitchy – that just makes me want you even more..."

Chloe's skin crawled at the thought of some grown man wanting sex with a thirteen-year-old girl.

"... Maybe I could find somebody for your young friend, too..." Another voice added.

Curtis was appalled by what he was hearing, but had no idea what to do as he heard the other man walk up behind him.

"How about we all go into that alley over there?" The first man suggested.

Chloe nudged Curtis towards the alleyway. She was gauging the situation, sizing up the men. Against Mindy's rules, she was armed. The sub-compact Heckler &amp; Koch P30SK pistol was in a holster in the small of her back. She had no idea when she might get a chance to use it as the second man pulled out a pistol of his own, a .45-calibre Glock. The man forced them both down the alley and into another alley off to one side. The buildings were close together allowing little daylight, but there was a little illumination from a light above them on the side of a building.

"Let's start with you..." The first man said, indicating Chloe. "Pants off..."

"Go fuck yourself!" Chloe yelled back; she was starting to worry and she glanced around the alleyway for help or a way out.

The second man shoved Curtis up against the wall of the alley and placed his pistol against the boys left thigh. Curtis was shaking and sobbing.

"Follow instructions or your little friend never walks again!"

That was when Chloe, herself, began to shake and tears started running down her cheeks. She had no idea what to do – she had a gun, but if she attempted to reach it, or try to use it, then Curtis would have his thigh blown apart, instantly.

She told herself to think – what would Hit Girl do? She would keep things going and try to take control until the correct situation presented itself... That sounded easy in her head, but in the alleyway... She had to maintain control of the situation, no matter what...

Chloe bit down on her lip and undid the belt on her jeans followed by the buttons. The man was smiling in eager anticipation and Chloe was sure he was starting to drool. Chloe's hands slid around the waistband of her jeans, only inches away from the pistol. Could she drop the jeans without the men seeing the pistol? It was inside the waistband, so there was a good a chance that it would not be seen – she had a creepy feeling that their eyes would be elsewhere anyway.

She kicked off her shoes, the jeans dropped to the floor and Chloe stepped out of them, pushing them to one side, covering up the pistol. Chloe felt her stomach turn when she saw the man's smile grew as he ran his eyes up her bare legs to her... How far was she going to _allow_ this to go? She had to remain in control. Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes so that she could better see what was going on around her. The man lent over so he could see what was just barely covered by the bottom of her blouse.

"Now for the top..."

Chloe decided that the moment had come as she crouched down beside her jeans and began to undo the buttons on her blouse. All attention was on her; the eyes of both men were locked on her chest, anxious to see what was revealed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the pistol move away from Curtis, very slightly.

It was time to put on a show – a distraction. Chloe undid the first few buttons, then pulled the blouse up and over her head, and then down again towards the pistol.

"Now that is what I am talking about!" One of the men drawled as soon as her bra came into view.

Chloe almost felt physically sick at what she was hearing as she brought the blouse down to the ground and she fumbled for the grip of the pistol. She found it just as the first man started giving more orders.

"Stand up!"

Chloe pulled the pistol from the holster and in one smooth movement; she flipped the safety lever down with her thumb and then rolled backwards and sideways onto the ground bringing the pistol around and up towards the two men. She squeezed the trigger twice, dropping the man who held the pistol on Curtis. She then traversed right and dropped the other man before he could move from where he stood. Both men went down to headshots.

Chloe rose to her feet and lowered the pistol. The two men lay dead, blood pumping from their freshly destroyed heads. Curtis just stood there, shocked by what he had just witnessed. Chloe pulled on her jeans, blouse and shoes as quickly as she could, then grabbed Curtis' hand and they both ran.

Finally, they stopped to catch their breath.

"What the hell, Chloe!"

"A long story..."

...+...

Chloe had all but kicked down the door, as she burst into the house.

"Mindy, help!"

"What the fuck?" I yelled. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"We ran into a couple of problems and I had to use this..." Chloe explained, dumping her P30SK on the table.

I looked at both of them. Curtis was very white and he had been crying and so had Chloe.

"How many?" I asked.

"Two – they wanted to rape us..."

That shocked me, but only for a minute.

Dave had gone down the store, so I yelled for Alex.

"What?" He asked as he came in to the living room.

He took in the pistol on the table and the white-faced Curtis. His expression turned grim – the kid picked things up quickly.

"Take Curtis upstairs and get him cleaned up."

"Will do!"

Alex and Curtis vanished. I pulled Chloe over to the couch and sat her down.

* * *

She promptly burst into tears and hugged me tightly.

Over the next half hour, the entire story poured out. I was shocked that Chloe and Curtis had been attacked, but impressed that Chloe had held it together under such extreme circumstances. Chloe then took off her blouse and I saw scratches and grazes on her back from rolling on the alley floor.

I grabbed a first-aid kit from the kitchen and tended to her injuries. They were very sore, but Chloe tried to be brave and ignore the pain. She continued talking as a distraction.

"I'm sorry, Mindy – I shouldn't have had the pistol – I..."

"Cut it out, right now, Chloe!" I said sharply. "Obviously I was wrong about you carrying a concealed weapon and I'm glad that you disobeyed me – just this once!"

"It was horrible – I felt powerless; they could have done anything to the both of us..."

"I know… That is why they both deserved to die. What are we going to tell your Mother?" I asked.

"She's gonna kill me – I was supposed to look after Curtis and now he knows about me..."

We were interrupted by a voice.

"Is it safe to come down?" Alex called from the stairs.

"Yeah, bring Curtis down," I called back as Chloe pulled her blouse back on.

Curtis appeared, looking a little better. He had obviously taken a shower and was wearing some of Alex's clothes.

"Curtis told me everything," Alex said, looking at Chloe with concern.

"Sit down, both of you," I said.

Alex, naturally, sat down on the other side of Chloe; she hugged him tightly. I looked over at Curtis, alone on the other Couch.

"I assume you have some questions, Curtis?"

Curtis looked up, for a moment angry.

"My cousin just killed two men with a pistol that she should not know how to use, let alone be carrying!" Curtis began and then his expression softened. "You were unbelievable, Chloe, thank you."

Chloe looked over at her cousin and grinned.

"You know I like to shock you!"

"So, I assume that you must be one of the new vigilantes in New York – err Haze, I suppose?"

Chloe looked at me and I nodded.

"Yes, Curtis, I am the vigilante known as Haze..."

"Aunt Cathy?"

"Mom knows about me and has for some time."

"Awesome!" Curtis replied. He then looked over at me. "I think I know who _you_ are; does that mean you are going to kill me, or something?"

"Or something!" I replied, and then grinned. "Curtis, you have discovered a special and personal secret. We will trust you with it – however, do I need to go into the penalty for saying, or even thinking, _anything_ about us?"

"No, Hit Girl, you do not."


	37. Clarity

The following week was _not_ good!

Dr Bennett went ballistic, which was an understatement, when she heard what had occurred. I had taken Chloe and Curtis home and I had never seen Dr Bennett so angry. First, she went through Chloe like a ton of bricks for getting them both into the situation in the first place and then for carrying a concealed weapon; Chloe was left a sobbing wreck by the end of it. However, Dr Bennett eventually relented when she considered, as I had, that Chloe had done everything right, after the shit had already hit the fan!

Then we had the other issue!

"So, you know about Chloe's extra-curricular activities now, do you?" Dr Bennett said, turning on Curtis who flinched and shrank away from his Aunt.

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Who are going to tell?" Dr Bennett demanded.

"Nobody – ever..."

"You do and Mindy's wrath will be nothing compared to my own!" She finished, leaving Curtis a sobbing wreck, too.

I was very pleased to get out of there and go home.

Note to self: never get on Dr Bennett's bad side!

..._...

Surprisingly, Chloe suffered limited trauma from her experience.

She spent time talking with Natasha, but Chloe was able to put it behind her very quickly. Curtis took a little longer – the poor kid had been frightened half to death by the whole experience. Needless to say: nothing was ever said to his parents!

* * *

**_Five weeks later_**

I had had the worst five weeks of my life – well that was not exactly true.

The assholes had worked me into the ground. Every day we trained, every day we practised, every day we learnt to work as a team. I had learnt to kick, to punch, to shoot and to ride. I had learnt to dive, to roll and to block. I had learnt that Mindy was a Grade A bitch!

I had been trained to use the bō-staff and the Glock 26 Gen 4 pistol among other weapons. Most importantly, I was to be partnered with my best friend, Chloe, or as she was known on the streets, Haze.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

The suit was light grey and made from a composite stab resistant material that was flexible and fairly form fitting. The suit was made up of trousers and a zip-up jacket that joined to the trousers to form a single suit. The trousers came down to dark blue leather boots, with armoured soles that covered the calves with an armoured panel that encircled the lower leg and came up to a few inches below the knees. The knees were protected by armoured pads that were a light blue. Strapped to the right and left thighs were a pair of pistol holsters that each held a Glock 26 Gen 4 pistol. The holsters were suspended from a belt, which was dark blue in colour and was festooned with equipment, including four magazine carriers, and two pouches for other equipment, plus two thin pouches that held mini-suppressors for the two pistols.

The jacket had pockets at the front for four flexible ballistic plates. The upper left pocket was embossed with the letter 'C' in light blue. Each pocket was dark blue and the heavy-duty zip was protected with a vertical Velcro strip. The back of the jacket had three pockets that again held three flexible ballistic plates and again the pockets were dark blue.

The shoulders of the jacket had similar armoured pads to the knees and were light blue. These pads extended down the upper arm to just above light blue armoured elbow pads. The hands and lower arms were covered with gauntlets that had armour on the back of the hands that extended over the wrist joint and up to the elbow. The gauntlets had composite armour for the palms and the front of the fingers. The rear of each finger was light blue, while the gauntlet was black.

The neck was protected with a thick collar. The head was covered with a form-fitting mask that covered the head and around the eyes. The lower face was uncovered.

..._...

"Meet our newest vigilante," Hit Girl announced. "Meet Clarity!"

I blushed madly at the attention.

"Damn; three females that all look hot!" Swipe moaned.

Haze laughed before turning serious.

"Get a boner for anybody but yours truly and I cut it off!" She growled to general laughter.

"How do you feel?" Kick-Ass asked Clarity.

"I feel awesome – I feel reborn; thanks everybody..."

* * *

**_The following weekend  
Saturday_**

**_The Bronx_**

I swung my bō-staff as the man approached me.

He was watching the beyond razor-sharp blades as he looked for an opening to attack me. Haze was off to my right, covering my back, while I covered hers. We went everywhere as a team, protecting each other. We were deadly; three men lay dead on the ground, one was mine – he had deserved to die. I had recognised the man as one who had raped me more times, than I cared to think about.

It felt very therapeutic, the killing, I was getting my revenge on the bastards and we were going to free more girls, girls who were suffering just as I had. The man pulled a gun, never managed to bring it up far enough to shoot me as a short knife appeared in his neck. He dropped the pistol and grasped his neck; I looked to my left and saw a grinning Hit Girl as she swung one of her Wakizashi blades into another man, almost severing his leg.

Kick-Ass and Swipe were alongside her as they ran for the main door of the building. Our job, Haze and I, was to kill or detain anybody that emerged from the building, who was not a victim. We could hear screams, both male and young female as Hit Girl, Kick-Ass and Swipe rampaged through the building. I was on a high from the adrenalin surges that flooded through me – I had never felt so alive.

* * *

The thrill of the kill!

I loved it. It felt so right having my best friend fighting beside me. We were fighting for other girls, just like her. Ultimately, we were going to take down the man who ran these abominations to human society.

I had no idea exactly what my best friend had endured, nor did I know what it was like to have sex; I was still a virgin. Although, one evening, a few weeks ago, I had been forced to strip in an alleyway, which had been as close as I had ever wanted to get to what had happened to Natasha. I had had several nightmares since then where I had not had a gun and I had been forced to strip naked in front of the two men and Curtis, and then suffer the indignities of having the men grope me and ultimately rape me.

I had only talked to one person about those nightmares and that had been Natasha. She in turn had talked about her own nightmares. Only, where mine had only been figments of my overactive imagination, hers had been very real. Over the past five weeks, we had become closer than ever before, which I think had annoyed Alexander, as I spent more time with Natasha than with him.

Since the attack, I had also been very cautious about Alex touching me. We had never had skin-on-skin contact, but we had touched each other, through our clothes. Only, I tended to shy away from him when his hands ventured towards my breasts and I pointedly said 'No', whenever his hands wandered below my waist. He understood and was concerned, but I knew he was upset, too. I would have to do something about that – with Natasha's help.

..._...

The man, who attacked me, fell as my blade cut him diagonally down and across his chest, followed by a blade through his heart. A cloud of bright red blood flew into the air and I smiled as I watched the droplets fall to the ground. I watched as Clarity swiftly dropped her man, with a swift stab in his chest; he fell with blood gushing across the ground.

"You good?" I asked.

"Never better, Haze!" Clarity replied with an enormous grin.

We both moved closer to the main building. We could hear people coming down the stairs and heading for the main door. The first group out were girls, naked or partially naked. We led them over to an area where we could protect them, to the right of the doorway.

A man came out – he seemed to be a client. I saw Natasha's teeth bare as she strode over to the man and punched him hard across the face with her armoured gauntlet. He went down with a yell, his nose broken.

"Give me one reason why I should not run you through!" Clarity growled with venom in her voice.

She held the tip of one bō-staff blade to the man's chest, over his heart. The man just shook his head.

"I have nothing that can stop you; but I can help those girls. Nothing I say or do can make up for what I've done, but I can help..."

"Why should I believe a worthless rapist like you?"

The man grimaced, aware that he was at Clarity's mercy.

"Again, I have nothing, but I can get help here, fast... In our defence, we are blackmailed into this – the first time was supposed to be a bit of fun, but then came the photos – I have a wife and family..."

"What can you do to help?" I asked, curiously.

"I can have ambulances here in minutes – I can ensure that the medical bills are paid and these girls are cared for... My cell..."

I nodded and allowed the man to reach into his inside jacket pocket and retrieve his cell. The man stiffened and I could see blood appear where the blade was beginning to sink into his chest. We watched as he dialled a number and spoke rapidly into the handset.

"It is done!" He said, minutes later.

* * *

True to his word, within twenty minutes a small fleet of ambulances appeared out of nowhere – plus the Cops.

The man offered up his card, before we left him to the Cops. His name was Vincent Headley; he was a big time Lawyer. Kick-ass, Hit Girl and Swipe were standing behind me as I spoke again.

"I am Clarity. We will be watching you; you renege on your promise and I will find you; I will gut you and you will feel every twist of my blade. You understand me?" I felt powerful as I said those words.

I was in control – the bastard would jump and dance to _my_ tune; just as I once had to men just like him. There was true fear in the man's eyes as he nodded, knowing that he was trapped.

"We will be in touch..." Hit Girl added instilling her own fear into the man.


	38. Resistance Is Futile

**_One week later  
Friday Night_**

**_The Hamptons_**

"Nice place you have here!"

"Yes, thank you."

The man did not seem happy...

"Just wanted to say thank you for keeping up your end of the bargain..."

"I made a deal, I won't break it."

"I am pleased to hear it..."

I moved closer and placed the razor sharp blade of my bō-staff just inches from his throat.

"Remember, I have so many reasons to gut you..."

"I promise..."

However, the man was talking into thin air and the blue-clad vigilante known as Clarity was gone.

* * *

**_The following night  
Saturday_**

**_The Bronx_**

In the space of five minutes, we almost lost Clarity and I almost died too.

A living nightmare had come true. I always knew it might happen and the thought was there, deep in my mind. I had buried it under slabs of metaphorical concrete, but here it was clear as day. I should have recognised the bastard...

It was comical in hindsight.

The five of us came around a corner and literally bumped into a large man and four of his minions. We were all too close to draw our pistols, nor could Haze and I use our bō-staffs! Kick-Ass pulled out his batons and shoved me out of the way, diving into the largest man. The rest of us each picked a man and fought.

Five minutes later, it was all over.

Clarity had been shot four times, in the chest, and she had collapsed onto the ground, where she was struggling to breathe. My head felt like it would explode thanks to a killer punch to the side of my head; I had fallen to one knee as I had struggled to focus. Haze had been thrown to one side and was in pain, struggling to stand. Swipe was still on his feet, as was Kick-Ass. We had put down three of the goons and only one was left, fighting Swipe. The head goon was able to shove Kick-Ass off to one side, shooting him three times in the chest.

Then I felt hands around my throat, lifting me up and off the ground.

"You, my pretty, are going to die for what you have done..."

"Who – the fuck – are you...?" I choked.

"They call me Ralph..."

I froze – every inch of my body went cold at the name.

"... D'Amico and you killed my brother..."

"Technically, it wasn't me..." I forced out.

Everything started to close in on me as I fought for breath. Then suddenly I fell to the ground as Kick-Ass drove a baton into D'Amico's kidney. Swipe had killed the remaining goon, so D'Amico chose to run, sending two bullets into me.

I tried to pull my pistol but I could not and I just collapsed to the ground.

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

"Fuck me!"

"Take it easy, Mindy..." Swipe insisted as he helped me to the mat and lay me down on my back before pulling off his mask.

Kick-Ass was carrying helping Haze in the door, with Clarity behind him. Both girls collapsed onto the mat, pulling off their own masks. Dave appeared as he secured the door and pulled off his own mask. Alex proceeded to help with my mask, gently, as my neck hurt. I let him; I had no choice and I could see the concern on his face, so I allowed him to help me off with my upper armour.

Chloe was helping Natasha with her own upper armour. I could see tears running down the girls' faces from the pain. What a shock it had been, running into those men...

Of all the men it could have been, Ralph fucking D'Amico!

* * *

**_The House_**

I lay in bed, next to Dave.

I was worried.

I was scared.

I was in pain.

As usual, I was naked, but neither of us were in any mood for carnal activities. We were both covered in bruises and Dave had fallen asleep very quickly.

"What am I going to do?" I whispered. "Daddy, what do I do?"

"You do what comes naturally, baby-doll."

"What!"

I looked up and Daddy was standing there, leaning against the doorframe.

"You know what you need to do and you can do it. I trained you well and you have _him_!" Daddy went on, tossing his head at Dave.

"Oh, yeah, sorry…" I said and felt my face warming up.

"Don't be shy – you needed a companion. I am proud of what you have set up, I really am. You are doing good and you are rescuing people..."

"Thank you, Daddy..."

"You just follow your instincts, child; they were always good. Use your skills and those of your team. You will get through this and you will put that diseased bastard down..."

"I love you, Daddy, sleep tight..."

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

There were a lot of groans and moaning that morning.

Everybody was very sore as they headed downstairs for breakfast. Dave and Alex were being very nice to us girls, which was a surprise – they never usually passed up an opportunity to wind us up. I knew that they were both hurting, too, but I was grateful for their care.

"I suppose it could have gone worse!" Dave quipped.

"At least the pain means that I'm still alive..." Natasha replied dryly as she dug into some sausages.

"I have to agree with that!" Chloe added.

"We need to heal and then up our game – that fucking diseased rat needs to be squashed and we are going to do that squashing..." Mindy growled.

* * *

**_Two weeks later  
Saturday night_**

**_Safehouse C_**

We were healed, mostly.

Over the past two weeks, we had trained and we had gathered intelligence on Ralph and Chris D'Amico. They were both still out there and they were causing trouble. I had even spoken with Marcus; he was worried about the escalation among the drug dealers in the city. He was also concerned about what I was going to do about it!

That night the five of us were ready. We checked each other's combat suits and equipment; there was to be no room for mistakes. We were taking the fight to the enemy and he would _not_ be happy about that!

For the night's action, I had arranged an ace in the hole – I just hoped it would not be needed...

* * *

**_The Bronx_**

The five of us stood atop the apartment block looking down into the darkness below us.

It was a cold night; however, our combat suits kept us warm, as we watched the men down below, going about their nefarious ways.

This was going to be a big hit calculated to piss off a lot of people and hopefully his lordship himself!

We believed we were going up against a first line crew, one of Ralph D'Amico's best. They were protecting one of what used to be Frank D'Amico's greatest earners, but now belonged to Ralph D'Amico. The men, below, belonged to a group with no name. At least, we had not been able to find a name for them.

The men looked like heavy hitters who would not shirk from a fight. The intention was to hit hard and leave a mess; I wanted D'Amico to see what we could do to his organisation. I had no illusions that he would just pack up and leave New York, but one could always hope!

So far, we had confirmed eight hitters. We were sure that there were more, in the building. The group used the first floor and the basement. Above them were apartments. We had obtained plans for the building and confirmed the layout. The first floor had three rooms, one large and two small. The two small rooms were either side, of a short corridor, that went between the main door and the larger room. We believed that the larger room was used for illegal gambling. One of the smaller rooms was a kitchen; the other was a space for the hitters.

The basement was accessible from the short corridor down a flight of stone steps. Done there was believed to be storage and a counting centre. There may also be a drug-packaging centre there; the evidence was inconclusive on that. Marcus had told me that there was intelligence on that building, but somewhere, up high, there was a bastard covering that intelligence up!

It had taken us over a week, to gather intelligence on this building and to complete reconnaissance of the area. Dave had obtained most of the information and Marcus had been able to fill in some gaps from a previous Police raid on the building.

..._...

The hitters were all armed. The weapons varied, but they were mainly pistols. At least two sub-machine guns had been visible, although right now they were not in evidence – that would have been difficult to excuse if a Police patrol drive past.

We nodded at each other; we all knew what to do. Kick-Ass and I started moving towards the ladder, down from the roof to the street. Swipe, Haze and Clarity headed for the hatchway into the apartment building.

Once on the ground, we kept to the shadows and moved towards the alley. Kick-Ass briefly squeezed my hand and I squeezed back; we were both ready. I had my twin Wakizashi blades in my hands and Kick-Ass had his Ko-Wakizashi held steady in his. Kick-Ass looked really, very menacing in his suit and he looked _huge_ compared to me. We were hoping that he would look menacing to the hitters; this would, we hoped, put them off their game.

* * *

We made our way down the stairs into the apartment block.

The stairs were clear, as was expected for that time of night. There was a side entrance from the apartment block, down a flight of concrete steps into the alley. We would attack from there; it was also the first place that a guard might be hiding, as the steps were only a few feet from the door to the den.

Once we reached the second floor, we stopped at a set of double doors that led to the side entrance. There he was! A tall man sat in a chair, a large sub-machine gun beside him.

"Hit Girl, Swipe – we have the second floor exit in sight – one cunt!"

* * *

"Well done – stand by to take the fucker out!"

One of the hitters started moving towards us, flicking a lighter near his face. Bye, bye, night vision – so stupid! Kick-Ass smacked him hard across the face with the back of his right gauntlet. The man went down, without much of a sound. The traffic noise helped to deaden the sound of his body hitting the alley floor.

"Art! You got my fucking lighter?" We heard a minute later, as another hitter appeared out of the gloom.

He saw us.

He froze and all blood drained from his face.

He turned to yell, but was suddenly and painfully cut off by a knife in his throat. Fucking bullseye! I smiled as the hitter dropped.

Almost half a minute later, all hell broke loose.

"What the fuck?" A new voice. "Jack? Whatya doing in the snow? You drunk?" Another hitter came out of the gloom. His eyes went wide, when he saw Kick-Ass looming over his colleague.

"What the fuck are you?" He yelled.

"Your worst fucking nightmare, cunt!" Kick-Ass snarled back.

The hitter pulled his gun, but Kick-Ass kicked him down and disarmed him, before ramming his armoured elbow into the man's face. Dave ejected the magazine and the chambered round before he threw the gun into an open bin. The other hitters started shooting, at the apparition coming towards them, out of the darkness.

"Swipe – take him!"

* * *

"Fire in the hole!"

Clarity kicked open the double doors as I pulled the pin from a grenade and rolled it towards the guard. The guard jumped up as the doors opened and then looked in horror at what was rolling towards him. He made to dive for the exit, but he had taken perhaps two steps when the grenade detonated.

The thunderous bang and bright flash of light overloaded the man's senses and he crashed to the ground where Haze shot him in the head with her pistol as she passed. We all raised our brand new Heckler &amp; Koch MP7A1 sub-machine guns as we headed for the exit. The weapon was light and each was fitted with an optical sight, laser, flashlight and a suppressor.

* * *

The detonation rang out, momentarily causing us all to pause.

Then the fight began in earnest as the last glass fell to the ground. Kick-Ass took a round to the chest, then two more, which did little more than make him stumble back, his stance prevented him being thrown off balance and his armour absorbed a lot of the impact. He hesitated a second before throwing himself forward. I followed from his right and I felt one round hit my left chest, which put me off balance and almost spun me around, but I caught it in time and continued advancing. I stowed my swords on my back and pulled out my pistols, shooting into the hitters, but making sure that I aimed away from Kick-Ass who was carving through them with his own blades.

I dropped six men, two at a time and Dave had clubbed three more into submission, before the door to the first floor burst open and more men ran out, with their guns drawn. We barely had time to catch a breath, let alone reload, before the men slid to a halt and took in the scene. They hesitated a second more before advancing. A few rounds missed us, _very_ close. We must have been difficult to see in the darkness, as the only illumination was a small light above the door.

Three people burst out from the second floor and poured bullets into the emerging men who dived for cover leaving three bodies behind. I saw Haze and Clarity shooting from cover on the steps while Swipe moved down the steps towards us firing short bursts from his MP7. The weapon had been a good choice and both Kick-Ass and I carried one in a thigh holster.

Eleven men were shooting at us. Then ten, then nine. Two men shouted, "Fuck this!" and ran for the end of the alley. Kick-Ass drew his pistol and shot them both as they ran past. That left seven. The odds were increasingly in our favour. We were now too close for firearms so I pulled out my swords again.

With Kick-Ass to my left and Clarity to my right, bō-staff in hand, we advanced.


	39. Cartel

**_Saturday Night_**

**_The Bronx_**

I felt a warm sensation on the exposed portion of my face as somebody's blood flew across me.

I was in my element; the blades of my swords were dripping blood and the ground beneath our feet was turning into a river of red. Somebody hit me from behind and I was shoved forward, into the wall of the alley. My suit absorbed the impacts and I turned to face a large man, who had a viciously sharp knife in one hand. My suit had deflected the initial knife attack. He lunged towards me and he was impaled on one of my own blades. He tried to swing the knife and stab me, but I grabbed the blade and wrenched the knife from his hand. His eyes went wide and he fell back, dead. I heaved my blade, out of the body and the next thing I knew, Clarity was back to back with me, as we fought the last two hitters.

Within half a minute, the final hitter dropped dead. I turned to Clarity, she was breathing heavily, but she did not look hurt and her suit appeared intact. Her blades were smeared with blood.

Clarity took a moment and wiped them off on one of the bodies.

* * *

The door to the first floor was partially open.

First, I grabbed my throwing knife from the second body, wiping it off, and then we changed out the magazines in our weapons. Swipe and Haze were to remain on guard in the alley while Kick-Ass, Clarity and I went in, checking the smaller rooms first. The kitchen was empty, as was the other small room. The door to the larger room was closed. Kick-Ass pulled it open and I dived through, rolling before coming up into a crouch, my swords out in front of me. Clarity entered directly behind me with her MP7 raised.

In the centre of the room was a large, round table with six chairs, four of which were lying on the floor. Six men were standing; well cowering may be a better word, over by a small bar. They had their hands up – idiots! They stared, wide eyed, at the blood that shimmered on the blades of my swords and dripped onto the carpet. The only illumination in the room was by the light over the table.

"Who... Who... are you?" One of the men stammered.

"Your worst fucking nightmare, cunt!" I growled dangerously, copying Kick-Ass, who just tipped his head towards me, with a smirk.

Kick-Ass proceeded to check out each of the men, while Clarity kept an eye on the door, she could see the exit to the alley and the steps to the basement. I watched to make sure that nobody took advantage of Kick-Ass as he identified most of them as standard criminal low life who were just there for the gambling. One man stood out; he did not seem as scared as the others were and I got the impression that he was probably in charge. I hit each of the other five men across the head with the ends of my swords, knocking them all out cold.

"The basement – any problems going down?" I asked.

"We have no basement..."

The man yelled out in pain as my gauntlet struck his lying mouth and blood flew.

"Try again!"

"You don't know who you are dealing with..."

The man screamed and fell to the carpet in agony as I pulled my Wakizashi from his thigh.

"Resistance is futile!" I growled with a grin.

* * *

The basement was not going to be an easy nut to crack.

They would be aware of the attack, however, according to the dickhead with a hole in his thigh, they deemed it impregnable, not to mention that the only entrance was heavily guarded. The man had shown us a CCTV setup that showed everything: the alley, the room where we stood – and the basement.

The basement was large.

At the base of the stairs was a large steel door, behind that was a room with six armed guards – they were playing cards. Beyond them, through a pair of glass doors was the drug packing setup. Four more guards oversaw the packing. The packing was being done on a long metal table by eight girls. The girls could not have been much more than fifteen and they were all working naked.

* * *

"You sure you're not using too much?"

"Hey, it's me!" I growled at Kick-Ass' question.

"Exactly!"

I was casually attaching C4 to the hinges and lock of the door. I then inserted a fuse into each charge and retreated back up the stairs with Kick-Ass.

"Fire in the hole!" I growled as I flicked off the safety and pressed the button.

Less than a second later, there was a large bang and a puff of dust came from the basement steps. Kick-Ass ran forward and down into the basement. The door had been removed from its hinges and blasted inside the next room; two guards had been literally squashed. I grinned as I bounced on the door, which seemed to jump as if it was on foam.

The other four guards in the room were stunned and offered no resistance as we shot them dead. Then the firefight began as the other four guards opened fire with assault rifles. The girls had all dived for cover and were hiding down the far end of the room.

We had to put ourselves between them and the gunmen.

* * *

I was distracted for a moment by all the naked flesh, but focussed on the gunmen.

I put myself between the girls and the gunmen, firing short bursts from my MP7. The firefight did not last long as the gunmen chose a metal table for a shield, but our bullets went straight through!

Once the shooting stopped, I pushed the eight naked girls towards the exit.

"You're safe now – we'll get help for you..." I said.

* * *

I made a call as soon as we were out of the basement.

It went to Marcus explaining what we had found. Then the shit hit the fan!

"Two Escalades pulling up at the east end of the alley, ten men, heavy weapons!" Swipe announced.

D'Amico had sent reinforcements. I could hear gunfire as Swipe and Haze were engaged by D'Amico's men.

I dialled another number on my cell.

"Take them out!" I said simply before dropping the call.

I ran for the door to the alley, with Kick-Ass behind me. Two of the men were down, but we were short on ammunition and there was no way that we could hold the place until the Police arrived. Then our guardian angel chipped in.

There was a zinging sound and a man's head exploded. Two seconds later another head exploded after a similar zinging sound. The remaining men dived for cover.

"What the fuck is that?" Swipe demanded.

"That would be Mathilda!"

Another gunman fell, his neck a bloody mess. By the time the Cops arrived, they were all dead and we had vanished into the darkness.

* * *

"What a fucking mess – those vigilantes need hunted down!"

"What the fuck are you talking about Vic – they did our job for us, as we were too scared to assault the place ourselves!" Marcus seethed.

"Marcus, what can I say?"

"Don't bullshit me, Vic. We both know who pays for your extravagant suits and dinners – he runs that drug den!"

"That's quite an accusation, Marcus. Would you like to put that in writing?"

"Fuck you, Gigante!"

* * *

**_The House_**

"Well done, everybody!"

"Thanks, to you too, Mathilda!" Swipe added.

"I'm glad to have been able to help you guys..."

Mathilda actually looked embarrassed!

* * *

**_The D'Amico Penthouse_**

"What happened?"

I felt cold. When the Boss spoke calmly and slowly, it meant that somebody, somewhere, was going to die...

"The base was raided by those vigilantes – Hit Girl and Kick-Ass were there..."

"The girls, the drugs?"

"The NYPD took it all away – the drugs and the girls..."

Ralph D'Amico closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before opening them again.

"Get me that turncoat, Gigante..." Ralph growled. "Oh, another thing – find me that nephew of mine..."

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_The House_**

On the positive side, D'Amico knew we were at large.

On the negative side, D'Amico knew we were at large.

On the positive side, we had hurt D'Amico.

On the negative side, we had hurt D'Amico.

My mind was all over the place!

Breakfast was fun, though. We enjoyed having Mathilda with us and she got on well with Natasha. Naturally Alex was also pleased to see her, but he was never able to see her naked, which annoyed him.

"Thank you for letting me join in," Mathilda said. "I enjoyed it – I haven't killed anyone since we last met..."

"Well, spend some time with Mindy and that should change..." Dave laughed.

"Funny!" Mindy growled with a smile.

"So, you're winding up D'Amico, hoping the cunt will make a mistake?" Mathilda asked.

"Something like that, yes," Mindy replied.

"I thought D'Amico was in Riker's?"

"He was – I have a source who might be able to help us there..."

* * *

**_That afternoon_**

**_Central Park_**

"We doing this again; meeting on a damn park bench?"

"Get with it, Marcus!" I replied. "It's conspiratorial!"

"Just roll with it, Marcus – I gave up trying to figure out how her brain works months ago!" Dave muttered.

"Me too!" Marcus laughed.

I rolled my eyes before continuing in a whisper.

"Oh for goodness sake, Mindy!" Marcus groaned in an exasperated tone. "Speak up..."

"Alright – just having some fun! How did that fucking cunt get out of Riker's?" I demanded.

"You mean Ralph D'Amico, don't you...? He has paid off most of the City and somehow his fifty-year stretch seems to have ended suddenly. I daren't make too much noise, but something is going on and it involves the NYPD. I heard about those Cops going after you, Mindy. That was ordered by a certain Lieutenant Victor Gigante – an all-time low life that should have been put out of his misery, at birth!"

"Gigante?"

"Yeah – now don't react too badly, but he was the man that Frank D'Amico employed when your father said no..."

* * *

Mindy turned purple and I was sure that she was about to explode.

"Remember, Mindy. You cannot just kill him, despite that being _exactly_ what he deserves!" Marcus explained quickly.

"I know I know..." Mindy replied.

"I'll keep her on a tight leash, Marcus!" I quipped.

Mindy looked at me strangely.

"I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, Dave?" Mindy chuckled.

"Oh, ha-ha, Mindy!"


	40. Uncle Ralph

**_That same Sunday afternoon_**

**_Across New York City_**

Uncle Ralph was _not_ a happy man!

He had just lost a _lot_ of money and a _lot_ of invaluable product. He was a man that did not tolerate mistakes – of any kind...

"Please, Boss – there was nothing that we could do..."

"Nothing?" D'Amico growled angrily.

"Maybe, but – they were all over us _and_ they had automatic weapons..."

"_They had automatic weapons_..." Mused D'Amico before raising his voice. "What the fuck were you using – pop-guns?"

"Boss, I..."

"Fuck this!" D'Amico raised a pistol and put a bullet into the man's head.

He took a deep breath and walked out of the room.

"I'm hungry – a good steak would be nice..."

* * *

**_Safehouse C_**

Hit Girl was dying, her life slowly seeping of her.

I was feverishly pulling off her body armour. As she lay on the mat, blood was seeping out of somewhere and I had to stop it. She was out cold so I could not ask her where it hurt, but I knew that she had received at least two bullets that had penetrated her armour.

Cathy was on her way, but I had absolutely no idea if she would make it in time; I could only hope. There was nobody else to help me as I threw sections of armour and clothing out of the way, along with the various pistols, knives and magazines.

Before long I had stripped Mindy of her clothing, down to the waist. I used a fresh towel to clean off most of the blood and I finally discovered three holes in Mindy's stomach, low on her left-hand side. I rolled her body to the opposite side and saw only the one exit hole. I placed a dressing over that after wiping the area clean with an antiseptic wipe. I wiped the area around the three front holes in the same way before placing another, much larger dressing over them.

Now that the blood was no longer flowing out of her unimpeded, I pulled off the rest of her clothes and checked her body from head to toe for any other injuries. Apart from quite a few bruises and some scratches, she seemed intact. I left her on the mat, but covered her nakedness with a clean white sheet which quickly started to absorb some of the blood and other bodily fluids from her skin.

I was petrified that something would happen to that girl. Despite her being two months short of her fourteenth birthday, she was all I had in my life and I loved her dearly.

I also, was all she had in the world too.

* * *

I burst in through the door to the Safehouse and I was shocked by the scene before me.

Dave was sitting on the mat, still in his combat suit, but with his mask off – it was lying on the mat a few feet away, and his jacket was hanging loose. Blood was evident on his suit as well as on the mat. In the centre of the blood lay an unconscious Mindy who was obviously naked except for the sheet that was itself soaked in blood and other fluids. I began issuing orders.

"Chloe get Dave a hot drink. Dave go get yourself cleaned up – I'll sort out Mindy."

Dave reluctantly got up, with the help of Chloe, and he headed for the bedrooms. I knelt down beside the young girl and pulled some rubber gloves that I had retrieved from my case onto my hands. I began with Mindy's vitals; she was breathing steadily and without any problems which was good.

I pulled the soiled sheet off Mindy and started to inspect the dressings and wounds. First, I ripped off the sodden dressings and began to explore the bullet wounds. I found the single exit wound and knew that I needed to go bullet digging. I opened up my case, grabbed some forceps and began to dig into the wounds for the bullets and any fragments.

I was glad that Mindy was unconscious as digging for the bullets would have been extremely painful.

* * *

It was horrible.

As I waited for the water to boil, I watched Mom with Mindy. There was a lot blood; in my mind there was too much blood. Mindy looked so fragile lying there – no longer the fearless and much feared Hit Girl. At that moment she was just a damaged human, just like any other.

When Dave had called, he had been beside himself and we had raced over as fast as Mom could drive. I had no idea where they had been for Mindy to have been shot, but I know that it had to have been that bastard, D'Amico. He had a raging hard-on for hurting Hit Girl after what she had done to him.

Dave appeared from the bathroom, his hair still wet; he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Something was not right. I walked over, placing Dave's coffee on a table.

"You hurt?" I demanded.

"No, just Mindy..."

I yanked up Dave's t-shirt; he was covered in vicious purple bruises. I screamed at the sight.

"Dave!" Mom announced as her eyes took in the bruises, her eyes attracted to my scream. "I'll see to you next. Chloe, get him sat down before he falls down!"

I helped Dave to the couch and I could tell that he was hurting despite his limited nerve endings. He had ignored his own wounds to care for Mindy, which did _not_ surprise me one bit. There was a massive unbreakable bond between the two of them, despite the age difference and I knew that they loved each other on a brother/sister level as well as on a boyfriend/girlfriend level. For them it was complicated, but a necessity for both of them. Mindy had nobody else and neither did Dave.

I hated watching as Mindy lay there naked and covered in blood, but I was very worried about her and I was shocked to find myself crying; I had not even noticed that I was crying! Dave put an arm around me and hugged me. I began sobbing, which was ridiculous, but we comforted each other. I liked Dave, but only as a friend – he was like three years older than me and I would never _dare_ to come between Dave and Mindy – besides I had Alexander! But for that moment, we needed each other.

..._...

Finally, Mom stood up and pulled the sheet back over Mindy. She showed us two bullets that she had removed from her body.

"She'll live, but she is going to be very weak for a while. She's a very lucky teenager."

"Thank you, Cathy..."

"Now, let's sort you out – lie down on the couch – Chloe get me my case..."

* * *

Everything was dark when I awoke.

Where was I?

My eyes were able to focus on a clock beside my bed – _my bed_; I was at home! Why did I feel like crap? Indeed, why did I feel like I had been shot? Yeah, there was a feeling associated to being shot and it was not the first time that I had felt it! Where was Dave? I tried to move – I needed answers...

I screamed and screamed!

The pain was intense – my left side was on fire; at least it felt like it was! My door was thrown open and the light switched on – through the glare I saw that it was Dave, with Chloe, Natasha and Alex close behind. Dave was ashen.

"You okay?" He asked and a warm feeling flooded through me at the very obvious love and concern in his voice.

"What the _fuck_ happened to me?" I demanded as I threw back the duvet in another attempt to get out of bed.

That was when I noticed that I was stark naked, except for a couple of large gauze pads and quite a lot of dried blood. Surprisingly, nobody joked about me exposing my body; everybody was very serious and again I felt that warmth inside of me – both from embarrassment and from the again very obvious concern in the eyes of the two girls and Alex. Dave tucked the duvet back over me, with my arms on top and restoring what was left of my dignity!

"The goddamn question still stands, assholes!" I growled impatiently.

Dave spoke as he sat down on the bed, waving the others to do the same.

"A certain young girl wanted to go out..."

* * *

**_Earlier that night_**

"We can't go out on our own."

"We fucking used to!" Mindy pointed out to me indignantly.

"Yeah, we did – but now we have additional support, so why take unnecessary risks?"

"But they are off at some fucking party and I'm bored, plus that cunt is pissing me off!"

"Hey, calm that purple butt of yours down!" I grinned, giving up without a fight. "I suppose I don't have a choice do I?"

"Not really, no!" Mindy replied with a big grin.

"Fucking teenaged girls!" I groused as I pulled some shoes on and dejectedly grabbed my jacket.

...+...

"You ready, bitch?" I called from the mat an hour later down at the Safehouse.

"I'm getting there – my whatevers keep riding up my whatevers!" Mindy called back.

_{Mindy scowled at that and Alex laughed, until Chloe slapped him!}_

"Maybe you need bigger _whatevers_..."

"God I hate being a teenager and I hate fucking puberty!" Hit Girl growled savagely as she seized her twin Wakizashi swords from the wall.

"Then I won't go into my own feelings about living _with_ a teenaged menace who is currently going through puberty!" I laughed.

"If I didn't have a use for them, I'd cut your fucking dick and balls off!"

"You on your period?"

"I am seriously contemplating living without sex right now..."

...+...

All started well.

Hit Girl roughed up some dicks that had gotten in our faces and I managed to break some idiot's arm – well he was trying to shoot me! A thought had occurred to me; you know, if we actually published Hit Girl's menstrual cycle then many criminals may just learn to keep off the streets for a week each month!

_{Evil stares came from all three girls! Note to self: no more period jokes if I want to keep breathing!}_

Hit Girl was demanding to know if anybody worked for Ralph D'Amico every time that she roughed somebody up. After a couple of hours of roughing people up, we had no leads and Hit Girl was seriously unhappy and her mood and language went downhill rapidly!

_{That got a laugh from the three girls!}_

Then it all went bad – so fucking fast... As it turned out, he himself was out.

...+...

He himself was, of course, Ralph 'I need to suffer a violent drawn out death' D'Amico, and he was in as good a mood as my vertically-challenged vigilante pal.

_{Mindy scowled – I went on quickly...}_

They both saw each other at about the same time and their greeting was not all that original and anywhere else at another time it might have been amusing!

"You!" They both said at the very same time.

It might also have been funny if it had not been for the many guns that were in evidence. I pulled my Glock and started shooting. One of my bullets found D'Amico, catching him in his left arm. Hit Girl blazed away with her own Glock pistols – she landed several bullets on D'Amico's men before D'Amico himself grabbed a pistol off one of his men.

It was him that shot Mindy – three .40-calibre rounds. They cut straight through her body armour spinning her around and she hit her head on the kerb as she fell. I was left to fight the remaining men on my own. I put down two, before the remaining three hauled their boss away. I was lucky that they had had a level head and knew that they had to save their boss.

I picked up Hit Girl and carried her all the way back to the Safehouse, keeping to the shadows.

* * *

Nobody spoke for a minute or two.

Mindy just scowled at the bed and I could see her anger building. It was left to Natasha to lighten the mood.

"The fucking bastard!" She breathed.

"Huh?" Mindy asked, looking up.

"That bastard shot you, _three fucking times_ – he needs to be put the fuck down!"

Mindy stared for a moment before smiling – except it was an evil smile – a Hit Girl smile...

"Yes, he does..." Mindy said a little more cheerfully before she scowled at us all. "Now, if I am going to be able to kill that cunt, I need to heal, so you lot can just fuck off, so I can get some rest!"

Everybody laughed; it was good to have Mindy back!

"Not you, cunt!"

I smiled as I stopped and closed the door behind the others.

"Thank you, Dave, for saving my life – I love you... Now get your fucking lips down here so I can fucking kiss 'em!"


	41. The Pissed Off Patient

**_The following morning  
Friday_**

**_The House_**

Mindy had to be the worst patient ever!

She had slept badly, which was kind of expected considering her injuries. I had stayed with her all night, so I had not get much sleep either. Therefore, by the morning, she was one cranky, whiny, bitch – even more than usual! Chloe and Natasha had managed to get Mindy into a shower and with some struggling, screaming and plenty of foul language they were both able to clean her up some, just in time for Dr Bennett arriving.

..._...

"How is our patient?" Cathy asked with a grin as she breezed into the bedroom.

"Where do you want to start?" I replied. "Obnoxious, cranky, foul-mouthed, angry..."

"I get the drift – perfectly normal then!" Cathy laughed as Mindy just lay in the bed and scowled. "Who bathed her?"

"We did!" Chloe and Natasha said together.

"That must have been a struggle..."

"Yeah, it..." Chloe began with a smirk.

"Okay, enough!" Mindy growled. "I promise to try and behave, but I'm in a _lot_ of fucking pain, so I _cannot_ be held accountable for my actions!"

"Mindy, shut up!" Cathy ordered as she hauled back the duvet ignoring Mindy's yell that she was naked and began prodding Mindy's wounds.

"Ow, that fucking hurts!" Mindy yelled out and then she glared up at everybody in the room. "Can a naked girl have some goddamn privacy please!"

"I said, shut up, Mindy!" Cathy ordered again before turning around. "You lot, this is not a damn peep show – OUT!"

..._...

We all hung about outside the door – it was worth it! Mindy was swearing like a trooper as Dr Bennett changed her dressings and inspected the wounds. Mindy was also getting yelled at for her language, too! Finally, after forty minutes, a smiling Dr Bennett appeared.

"She's good for another day – good luck everyone!"

I walked in, closing the door behind me.

"I hate her _so_ much!" Mindy growled as she lay under the duvet trying to look pissed off.

"She means well, Mindy."

"Dammit, I know!"

"Would you prefer that she treated you like a little girl – as a normal fourteen-year-old?"

"No."

"Well get over it then! So, how long till you're better?"

Mindy grimaced.

"Could be six weeks – it depends on if I pull out my stitches, overstress myself, or do anything _stupid_!"

"Well..."

"Say it and I rip your throat out!"

"That would come under the heading of overstressing yourself..."

"Ass!" Mindy laughed.

I was overjoyed that she was on the road to recovery and even happier that she was able to laugh and joke like normal.

Normal?

Mindy?

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday_**

After Mindy had finished her breakfast she was allowed visitors in her room.

Everybody was warned not to overstress her, or there would be consequences. I had managed to help Mindy into an overlarge t-shirt to maintain the remains of her dignity and then helped her into a sitting position.

"Can I ask a question?" Alexander asked.

Mindy's eyes narrowed.

"Is this question going to result in me wanting to hurt you?" She asked casually.

Alexander just grinned.

"Go on..." Mindy growled out of exasperation.

"What I want to know is... What was it like – three hot chicks in the shower?"

"I might have known!" I grimaced, looking at each girl in turn.

"We just helped Mindy _wash_ – _nothing else_!" Chloe growled.

"I assume Mindy was naked – but what about you two...?" Alexander persisted.

I expected him to be slapped, but no – all three girls actually blushed simultaneously. Alex looked like Christmas had come early!

"So..."

"Mindy struggled and we both got soaked..." Natasha explained reluctantly.

"Plus I think we hurt her a bit..." Chloe added.

"No, Alexander – it was _not_ a lesbian orgy!" Mindy insisted.

"Please – don't ruin my vision!" Alexander insisted, his eyes closed, a hand down his pants and a dirty grin on his face.

* * *

**_One week later  
Saturday morning_**

The interceding week had been... Interesting!

Mindy had reached new heights when it came to foul language and she had even made the intrepid Dr Bennett blush. Cathy had allowed Mindy to get up and about, but carefully. There was no choice really as Mindy was so fed up with being in bed that she was about ready to kill – in every sense of the word!

Her temper and foul language were not helped on Friday morning by my having to carry her down the stairs which she saw as demeaning and humiliating. Alexander had done his best to calm her down and he was being genuinely caring, but Mindy just lashed out at him – until I told her off, which she _did not_ take to kindly to!

..._...

Anyway, Saturday morning was a big day for Alexander – he was the first of the teenagers to reach the dizzy heights of fourteen-years-old. Mindy was determined that he should have a perfect day, although while she could do nothing to help, she just ordered everybody else about. That did not go down too well with Chloe and Natasha. Chloe actually threatened to put three more bullets into Mindy's _other_ side!

I had Mindy down in the kitchen before Alexander woke up and she also insisted on getting dressed – now that was a saga! On the kitchen table were birthday presents for Alexander. Mindy had thought long and hard about Alexander and she had wanted something good for him, so she had been shopping some weeks previously.

..._...

"Holy shit!" Alexander commented as he entered the kitchen.

"Happy birthday!" Everybody shouted.

Alexander then received kisses from all the girls – even Mindy!

"Don't think you're getting any more, cunt!" She growled, but grinned at the boy. "Well open them already!"

Alexander started with the smaller gifts from the girls which were various CDs and DVDs which he had been dropping hints about. He thanked the girls with kisses, although Chloe's was a lot longer and more drawn out than Natasha's!

Next he turned to the two largest presents on the table.

..._...

He went for the smaller of the two presents first.

As he ripped off the blue wrapping paper the teenager froze when he saw the black resin case with 'Walther' stamped on it. Then I saw his hands shake as he pulled off the remainder of the wrapping paper. He gently lay the case on the kitchen table and flipped off the two clips releasing the lid.

"Oh, fuck!" He breathed as he stared at the custom pistol in dark blue and black.

Alexander looked over at me and then Mindy; he seemed to be in shock. Mindy though was bouncing up and down, like a yo-yo on steroids. I knew it was hurting her doing that, but it was Mindy!

"Alex, can you tell Mindy that she can speak, please. I banned her from saying anything while you unwrapped your presents, but I think she is going to explode... Or rip open her stiches!"

"Please, Mindy, give me the stats," Alex asked with a grin at Mindy's obvious discomfort.

Mindy spoke like a machine-gun on full automatic...

"It's a Walther PPQ M2 Navy kit. The pistol has an extended barrel to allow the supplied 8-inch suppressor to screw onto the threaded muzzle. The pistol has a 4.6-inch barrel and a magazine capacity of fifteen rounds, although I have supplied a pair of fifteen-plus-two magazines. The overall length is 7.8-inches with an empty weight of twenty-five ounces. The weapon is in 9-mm calibre. You have a picatinny rail below the muzzle for a combination flashlight and laser."

Mindy finally stopped talking and took a few deep breaths as everybody laughed. She blushed pink and stayed silent as she watched Alexander check the pistol, pulling back the slide and locking it in place so that he could check that the weapon was empty and safe. Alexander rarely made a mistake with a firearm. I saw Mindy nodding her approval.

"Thank you, both of you..."

..._...

Next came the somewhat larger present.

Alexander looked very nervous about that one. It was heavy and long. The paper was thicker dark blue, but with a purple ribbon.

"From you?" Alexander asked looking at Mindy.

She nodded enthusiastically and Alexander looked worried.

"Is it going to blow up and kill me?" Alexander asked stepping back for a moment.

Mindy looked hurt for a second, but grinned.

"If I give you a present and then run out the door – _then_ you should be worried!" She laughed.

Alexander started by pulling off the ribbon – he was cringing a bit, at least he was until Mindy scowled at him! Next came the paper, slowly and steadily, then the boy gasped as he saw the 'H&amp;K' logo appear. He carefully removed all the paper and then just stared at the case.

"Come on already! I'll be fucking healed before you've opened the damn case!"

"Hey!" I growled at Mindy. "You promised to behave!"

Mindy scowled and muttered something foul that had everybody chuckling. Alexander flipped off the two catches at either end of the black resin case and opened the lid.

"Fuck!" Chloe commented when she saw what was inside.

Alexander recognised it immediately; it was one of his favourite weapons. Only it was the updated variant and not the A1 version that we used. He stared at the blue and black sub-machine gun.

"Heckler and Koch MP7A2 in 4.7-millimetre... They changed the receiver to eliminate the folding hand grip as it was deemed a weak point in the original design. They replaced it with another picatinny rail and I see you've supplied a vertical hand-grip and a Rotex-II suppressor."

Mindy was speechless for a second and very impressed.

"Wow – You're _not_ as thick as you look, Brit!" Mindy said with a grin. "Even _I_ don't have one of those... Yet... Happy Birthday!"

Alexander looked lost for a moment, but then he turned to Mindy.

"Can I kiss you, without being killed?"

Mindy went pink, but nodded as Alexander carefully leant down and kissed her on the cheek. Mindy rapidly bypassed the remaining shades of pink and went straight to a violent red.

"Thank you, Mindy... I really mean that."

Mindy was very embarrassed as she sat there and muttered something about it only being a goddamned gun! However, I knew that Mindy was secretly very pleased with Alexander's reaction. Mindy and Alexander argued and teased each other mercilessly and sometimes blows were exchanged – usually drawing blood on Alexander's part, but I knew that they really cared for each other. In a little over ten months Mindy had gone from wanting to kill him for seeing her naked, to actually caring enough about the kid to buy him a weapon that she herself coveted and did not even own!

"Well done!" I whispered into Mindy's ear and she leaned back so I could give her a kiss on the lips.

She smiled.

"I do good work!" She smirked, her face slowly losing its redness.

"That blush was really hot; I can tell you!" I teased and the red reappeared again and she giggled.

"You two need a room?" Chloe asked.

"Or are you two gonna fuck right here on the damn table?" Natasha finished grinning hugely.

"Huh? Who's fucking who on the table?" Alexander enquired, too engrossed in the inner workings of his new MP7A2 to be listening, or noticing anything around him.

"Go back to your gun, Alex!" Chloe laughed as she went back to teasing Mindy.


	42. Climbing the Walls

**_The following weekend  
Saturday_**

Mindy next suffered what she saw as the greatest indignity of her life.

We had left her at the Safehouse, 'like a puppy', while we went out to have fun! At least that was how she had termed it; but she was in no state to go anywhere! To make sure that she behaved, we had invited Marty and Erika over. I had reminded Mindy that she was very lucky to have even been allowed down to the Safehouse!

To make life easier for Erika, I had given her a Taser...

"What!" Mindy had exclaimed when she had seen the bright yellow weapon.

"It's not that we don't trust you; we just don't trust you!" I had grinned. "She misbehaves, Erika – shoot her!"

Mindy scowled as I had made a point of leaving Erika with several spare cartridges, which just seemed to piss Mindy off even more! Mindy swore violently and stormed off into another room, slamming the door behind her.

I followed her to make sure she that was okay.

"You be good now, okay?" I said seriously and Mindy nodded.

"I will – I know I need to heal, but I don't like being left behind..."

"We'll be fine – Battle Guy has our back... You too, Hit Girl!"

* * *

Considering the dangers out there, we had decided to improve our operating pattern and resources.

As such we now had a new Command Centre. Marty had put it together over the previous month – it still needed a lot of work and it would eventually become our primary Safehouse. The building was on the east side, south of Harlem. It was ideal, having five floors and a basement, all open plan – or near enough. The Command Centre was on the fourth floor, at the back of the building. Living accommodation was on the fifth floor and wasn't much more than just a few walls and nothing much else – like I said there was a lot more work to be done!

The third floor held the armoury – or it would do once it was both complete and full security was in place. The second floor was to be our training area as it was very open and had plenty of space. The first floor would remain clear for the moment, as a buffer to any attack, but would eventually hold store rooms along with the basement. The ultimate idea was to have secure and self-contained accommodation for up to a dozen people, including food and other supplies.

Safehouse K was to be the centre of our organisation.

* * *

**_Safehouse K_**

I sat down in a chair and watched as Battle Guy monitored the location of those out in the City.

I mentioned Battle Guy.

Well that would be Marty – his new identity, anyway; he picked it, not me! Erika was to be Mist. Neither had combat suits yet, but considering that I needed a new suit too, I was working out what would be needed to be ordered for us all.

..._...

I turned to Erika.

"You going to hold that all evening, Mist?" I asked, indicating the Taser in her hand.

"Will it be necessary?" She replied with a raised eyebrow.

"No... I promise to be a good girl..." I smiled sweetly and then turned serious. "I really want to heal, Erika. I fuck about and I'll just be sidelined all the longer..."

"Glad you're taking this seriously..."

"Erika – leave her alone!" Marty chuckled.

"Just having some fun with Hit Girl..."

"Thanks for looking out for me, Erika; I mean that."

* * *

**_An hour later_**

I must have dozed off – it was those damn drugs from Dr Bennett; they made me tired!

There were raised voices in the other room. I had stepped out to lie comfortably on a couch as my wounds made sitting up more than a little uncomfortable and painful after a while. I pushed into the Command Centre and heard radio chatter from those out in the City.

_"Clarity, on your right..."_ It was Haze.

_"I have him..."_ Clarity.

_"Nicely done, C..."_ That was Swipe.

_"Die, you bastard – wow, HG would have loved that bloodletting!"_ Haze again.

_"Fuck that hurt... Clarity flank to the right..."_ Finally, Kick-Ass.

I looked at Erika wanting answers.

"They were ambushed about four minutes ago," she explained. "Some of D'Amico's men..."

"Are they okay?" I asked desperately.

"They've taken three down so far and nobody is injured..." Marty added.

I felt awful standing there in safety while my friends were out there being shot at... I would have given absolutely anything to have been out there with them... Goddamn D'Amico!

_"Damn – my pistol jammed... Fucking thing... Got it..."_ Swipe.

_"Just in time, too!"_ Haze cut in.

A few minutes later came the command I had been waiting for.

_"Let's go – time to call it a night!"_ Kick-Ass ordered.

'Thank God,' I thought, feeling awful and I left the Command Centre heading back to my couch.

* * *

**_Forty minutes later_**

When I awoke again I was overjoyed to see Dave's face above me.

"Dave!"

I grabbed him and pulled him down so that I could kiss him.

"You miss me?" Dave asked, obviously a little surprised at my show of affection.

"Listening to the comms... I... I was _so_ scared – I so wanted to be out there by your side..."

"We survived. Your training kept us all alive. A few bruises but nothing worse. Everybody is getting changed... Hey... There's no need for that..."

"Huh?"

Only then did I realise that I was crying. Dave sat down beside me, still in his combat suit, his mask in his hand. He put his other gauntleted hand around my shoulders and pulled me in close as the tears flooded down my cheeks.

What was happening to me?

* * *

"What's up?" Alexander asked as he observed Dave and Mindy hugging.

"Mindy got very worried hearing you all fighting out there, over the comms..." I explained. "It was really hard on her."

"Maybe the girl does have a heart, Erika... Let's leave them be, they need time alone," Alexander said as he gently closed the door and waved Chloe away. "Later, Chloe."

"What...?" Chloe asked.

"Leave them be, please," Alex insisted and Chloe nodded, heading for the kitchen.

* * *

"What is wrong with me?"

Dave smiled as he held me. I needed him to hold me, at least that was what my heart told me.

"You were trained to be a heartless, cold, efficient killing machine – kind of like a Borg!"

"What!"

"Only kidding about the Borg – however you could lay claim to their catchphrase..."

"Don't say it!" I growled, smirking at the thought.

"Despite your, err conditioning, you still have a heart, Mindy Macready, and you used it today. It told you that your friends were in danger..."

"I know. Usually I am out there risking _my_ life with you all... Only now, my training put you all in danger while I just rested like a fucking sloth!"

I was raising my voice now.

"You're only human, despite what some may think..."

"I _am_ human; I have the same bits as every other damn girl!"

"I know you do," Dave laughed with a wink.

I felt myself blushing – of course he knew!

"I can't do it, Dave, I can't put you all at risk while..."

"So, we let D'Amico fortify himself while you heal?"

* * *

"Yes... No… Fuck!"

Mindy was getting seriously wound up and I could not blame her, either. She was struggling to cope with strange emotions that sprung from puberty, hearing her friends in danger and being hurt. I knew that Hit Girl saw being injured as a weakness – it was not allowed. Only, we lived in the real world, not some damn comic book.

"Get with the game, Mindy! You are human, you bleed, just like the rest of us... You feel, you hurt, just like the rest of us... You experience emotions, just like the rest of us... Your problem, is that you don't know how to _handle_ those emotions. Big Daddy did well training his Borg drone, only he missed some crucial steps when it came to her emotions..."

I raised a hand as an indignant Mindy tried to interrupt.

"... In his defence... In his defence... He still had a pre-pubescent daughter and he probably expected to have several years available to cover the rollercoaster ride called puberty; he was probably dreading it!"

That got a laugh from Mindy who had calmed down slightly.

"Daddy tried to explain the 'birds and the bees' shit to me when I was nine – only he gave up after ten minutes of embarrassed false starts and that was it; he gave me a book about 'sex' when I was ten!"

That actually had me laughing, too.

"Thank you for caring about me, Dave – it feels good to know that I have so many friends who care. The Taser was a nice touch; it showed me how far you were willing to go, to keep me safe..."

"I love you, Mindy Macready. I promised myself months ago that I was going to look after the little nutcase that I had found myself with, no matter what..."

"Little!" Mindy interrupted indignantly.

"Okay, compact, will that do?" I grinned.

"Much better!"

* * *

**_The House_**

Mindy went straight up to her room when she got back.

That resulted in my getting ambushed by Chloe, Alexander and Natasha. They all had concerned expressions on their faces.

"She's fine, okay! She's just struggling with things getting on top of her..." I started to explain. "It's been rough, the past thirteen months, rough for everyone, but especially Mindy.

"She was broken before I even met her... Then her Dad was murdered; mine too, that very same night – we both lost everything that was dear to us. We have a bond, me and her – it surprises me sometimes, it really does.

"I think that I am the only one that can even remotely understand her. Believe me you guys, she really loves what you do even though she doesn't actually say it..."

"We know," Chloe said with a reassuring smile which was replicated by the other two. "We know that she hates being weak, but she _is_ only human, Hit Girl or not..."

"Well said, Chloe!" Alex said nodding approvingly.

* * *

I was feeling sorry for myself.

It was ridiculous, I knew that, but I felt alone – which was stupid. I also felt annoyed with myself, annoyed with D'Amico, annoyed with... Everything and everybody...

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Come in..." I said as I sat up and turned to see who it was, wiping away my tears.

"Hi!" Chloe said with a smile. "Can we come in and sit with you?"

I saw Alex and Natasha standing behind her eagerly awaiting my response. I also saw Dave loitering behind them and he nodded gently. I really just wanted to be left to my thoughts, but I trusted Dave and took his advice.

I nodded and I found myself being hugged by Chloe and Natasha. Alex sat on the end of the bed for a moment before he spoke.

"A young blonde woman is distraught because she fears her husband is having an affair, so she goes to a gun shop and buys a handgun. The next day she comes home to find her husband in bed with a beautiful redhead. She grabs the gun and holds it to her own head. The husband jumps out of bed, begging and pleading with her not to shoot herself. Hysterically the blonde responds to the husband, 'Shut up... You're next'!"

For a moment, Mindy just sat there but I saw the corners of her mouth twitch and then she smirked. Very quickly the smirk turned into a grin and then she laughed as she gave up trying to be miserable.

"My side hurts!" She complained after two minutes of non-stop laughter.

"A little pain hurt nobody!" Natasha said through her own laughter.


	43. Raising The Bar

**_Three weeks later_**

**_Safehouse K_**

Things were no longer fun.

The bitch was now fourteen and what a change had come over her – it was like having a drill sergeant on residence! The only person not suffering was Dave and that was only because he gave her pleasure in _other_ ways... Mindy gained pleasure from us by driving us into the ground, or more specifically, the mat!

Natasha and I hurt in places that we never even knew existed and Mindy just told us to 'man up' or go back to our 'fucking dolls'.

"What's got into you?" I asked Mindy, one morning as I struggled back to my feet.

"Dave!" Alexander laughed.

"Not helping!" I responded as Mindy flipped me back onto the mat – why did I even bother getting up...?

..._...

Alexander...

Natasha and I were getting more than a little annoyed with his one track mind. He took every opportunity he could to try and catch us both naked – which I hated to admit happened a few times, mainly due to fatigue and the inability to get dressed after a bath or shower! At least once, we awoke to see Alexander gazing intently up our...

A few slaps around his face did not seem to do much more than give him a raging boner! Boys... Maybe being a lesbian was less troublesome...

Cannot believe I just thought that!

* * *

"I am good to go!"

"That is my decision, young missy..."

"No, it isn't!"

Somehow I saw this as an argument that neither side was going to win... Then Mindy went and fucked things up.

"You _will_ do what you are told – I..."

"Fuck you – I'm Hit Girl, I..."

It was all a blur, but seconds later Mindy was on the floor, on her back and struggling to breath after all the breath had been knocked out of her. She had a leg resting across her throat and a very, very pissed off Dr Catherine Bennett glaring down at her.

"There are seven cervical vertebrae which form the bones of the neck that support the skull and organs of the head. The first cervical vertebra (atlas) supports and balances the head," she explained calmly. "With just a gentle amount of pressure things will start to contract and crack – ever heard the term quadriplegia?"

Mindy was unable to speak, thanks to the pressure on her larynx, but she shook her head. Was that fear in her eyes?

"Total paralysis below the neck of limbs and torso – don't ever swear at me again, little girl!"

Dr Bennett stood up and gazed around at the shocked expressions on every face – including that of her own daughter. Mindy did not move – she seemed stunned. Everybody seemed to melt away very quickly leaving just me, Mindy and Dr Bennett.

"Awesome, Doc!" I said with a grin as I helped Mindy back to her feet.

"Fu... Sorry," Mindy said and turned to Dr Bennett. "Sorry. I should not have said that to you..."

"I kind of expected it, but wanted to have a little fun!" De Bennett chuckled.

Mindy looked annoyed, but said nothing.

"How about we let you out on a 'milk-run'?" Dr Bennett conceded. "Something to make sure that you _are_ as ready as you believe and preferably something that won't get you killed if you find out that you are _not_ ready!"

Mindy looked at me and I nodded.

"Thank you, Dr Bennett..." Mindy replied.

"Good girl!"

* * *

Once Dr Bennett was gone, I turned to Mindy.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really... Dave, I felt my fucking bones being crushed – that scared the shit outta me – well almost... I never knew that she could do that shit!"

"There is a lot more to Dr Bennett than we thought..."

"Tell me about it!" Mindy growled.

* * *

Alexander was noticed on a few nights sneaking in to see Chloe during the night.

Natasha had pointedly warned them both one morning that one thing could lead to another and the next thing Chloe would know, she would be pregnant. Chloe had indignantly replied that she was still a virgin and that Alexander's dick was going nowhere near 'that place', as she put it!

Nonetheless, Natasha, Mindy and I decided to keep an eye on the two love birds.

* * *

The next issue was that dick called Curtis.

He was back on the scene again, staying with Chloe. However, since he now knew that his cousin was a famous (Curtis' word, not mine) vigilante, he wanted to explore our world. Reluctantly, I allowed Chloe to bring him to the Safehouse. It would be my last sparring session before my 'milk run'!

I called over to Chloe.

"Fancy a game of vigilante tennis?"

"Huh?" Curtis asked.

"Why the hell not!" Chloe replied, grinning deviously.

"What is going on...?" Curtis asked, a little worried by his cousin's expression.

"Simple really," Natasha grinned. "Chloe and Mindy are going to play tennis, only _you_ are the ball!"

"No..."

Chloe kicked out and sent her cousin flying towards me – I allowed him to 'bounce', just the once, before grabbing an arm and flinging him back towards a giggling Chloe.

"Not funny!" Curtis declared.

Natasha and Erika were almost pissing themselves with laughter as they watched 'the game'.

Curtis was two months younger than Chloe and at thirteen, he had some muscles and I had to admit that he drew more than a few admiring glances from Natasha as he fought – or rather was just thrown from side to side.

I took pity on the kid after almost ten minutes of fun – although Chloe wanted to continue... I decided that I would have to watch Chloe – she could be really sadistic at times. I knew that she had never got on with her cousin and I was concerned that Chloe might try to hurt him – she was perfectly capable of doing so, too.

* * *

**_That night  
Saturday_**

I was finally back out where I belonged!

I had a new jacket to wear with my armour. The previous jacket was badly damaged – with three holes in it! It was also a good opportunity to get a bigger size – for growth purposes. Chloe had laughed at that – my boobs were getting there in their own time!

My weapons were loaded and sharpened – I was ready too – at least I hoped that I was. I had doubts, but I had no idea why, so for the moment I pushed them down deep.

"You okay, short-ass?"

I grinned up at Kick-Ass.

"I always am, big guy!" I replied.

"You two finished making out – we have work to do!" Haze groaned.

"Obviously, Alexander doesn't satisfy you enough!" I retorted.

Haze glared at me from behind her mask.

"Let's go!" Kick-Ass called as we all pulled on our helmets.

There were five of us, that night, all on two wheels. I had obtained two more Ducati Hyperstrada motorcycles – one in Dark Blue for Swipe and one in Light Grey for Clarity. Two months of training had given them the skills that they needed, but they were on their first night out and we would see just what they could do.

That night would reveal a lot.

* * *

For our 'milk run', we headed to Prospect Park.

It would, quite literally, be a walk in the park! We entered at West Drive, to the southwest – the place was reasonably busy, despite the cold weather. We parked the motorcycles and headed into the park on foot.

There was the usual collection of couples making out, which seemed to attract Swipe's attention, until Haze smacked him with the flat of her bō-staff blade!

"Hey! I'm a hot blooded male – I can't help it!" He complained.

"Yeah, and I'm a very hot, hot blooded vigilante with a pair of very sharp blades!" Haze replied with a grin.

I laughed. I enjoyed the casual banter when we went out – Hit Girl was always serious, as was Kick-Ass, most of the time. Swipe and Haze were always sniping at each other – but in a friendly way. Over the comms, we could hear Battle Guy and Mist, back at Safehouse K.

..._...

We were near the centre of the park – not far from the boathouse, when it kicked off and everything went to shit. They came out of the trees. They wore black from head to toe and they seemed to be a cross between ordinary thugs and ninjas. I had very limited fighting experience and ninjas were both new to me and a little scary too!

At least I had my bō-staff, which would come in handy as most of them were armed with swords. Swipe unsheathed his Ninja-To while Kick-Ass prepared his twin Ko-Wakizashi. Hit Girl had her Wakizashi swords. Haze had her bō-staff and I could see apprehension in her eyes at the sight of over a dozen adversaries.

I summoned all my courage and moved forwards.

* * *

The ordinary civilians ran screaming at the sight of the ninjas.

That actually got in our way and I found myself pushing through panicking people as they ran in all directions like a flock of worried sheep! I saw the two girls staying together and chose to move towards them – Kick-Ass and Hit Girl would not appreciate me getting in their way.

The noise was deafening from the screaming and also from the yelling of the ninjas. They brandished their Katana swords in what seemed a very professional manner. I did, however, keep a wary eye on Hit Girl as I was worried about her on her first time out, since she was almost killed. She was like a sister to me and I wanted to do everything that I could to protect her – even though Hit Girl did not actually need protecting!

* * *

It was not long, before I was fighting for my life. The attackers towered above my five-foot four-inch height and I had to use every ounce of my strength to deflect their attacks. I was very aware how sharp the Katana blades were and the damage that they could do.

Very soon, I found myself back to back with Haze as she deflected blow after blow with her bō-staff. I was momentarily shocked when the ninja I was fighting suddenly stopped fighting when he found himself impaled on a very sharp blade that was then removed and he dropped to the ground. Clarity flashed a grin before she span her bō-staff and drove the blade behind her and into the stomach of another attacker.

That girl was evil – despite being very hot. I sincerely hoped that Chloe could not read my mind – if so I would have been dead long ago!

* * *

All went well, at least it did, until Hit Girl dropped the ball!

She was doing well and fighting as well as she always had, but then she seemed to freeze and the man whom she was attacking was able to easily kick the purple vigilante in her side – she screamed as she fell to the ground. Then she was attacked from the side and kicked mercilessly before the ninja brought his blade up for a final strike, until Swipe shot the man in the head, blowing it apart.

Hit Girl seemed a little stunned as some of the man's head and brains landed on her. Swipe ran over and literally dragged Hit Girl to her feet – Swipe was quite strong when he needed to be. He very quickly pulled Hit Girl into cover while Clarity and Haze covered them both, protecting them from attack. The remaining ninjas seemed to thin out and vanish from sight leaving nine of their number dead on the grass. I put down the last man before heading over to my best friend.

"What the fuck happened? Are you alright?" I exclaimed.

"I don't fucking know!" Came the angry response.


	44. Doubt

**_That night  
Saturday_**

**_Safehouse K_**

"Leave me alone... Please!"

Mindy glared at us all as we gathered around her.

"Hey!" Alexander growled. "We want to help you..."

"I know, but I need to be alone – okay?" Mindy persisted.

"Let her be, Alex – for now at any rate..."

"Yes, Dave – of course," Alex replied, but he smiled at Mindy. "Call us if you need us, Mindy, okay?"

"Thanks, Alex – I will..." Mindy replied with a forced smile.

I waved the others off and led Mindy to a bedroom.

* * *

The bedroom had only recently been completed.

It had been reserved for Mindy and me, thus there was a large double bed and an ensuite bathroom. I closed and locked the door and sat Mindy down on the bed. I helped her to remove her body armour, starting with the mask. I was a little stunned when I saw her face – she looked very worried.

Once the armour was off, I lay her on the bed while I removed my own armour. Mindy did not move, she just stared at the ceiling. Once I was down to my shorts and a t-shirt, I lay on the bed beside her and held her hand. I could feel her grip tighten and then she began to sob gently. I pulled her to me and held her tightly.

We lay there for over an hour before Mindy fell asleep.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Sunday_**

**_Safehouse K_**

"Get it over with – give me the 'I told you so speech'..."

"No, Mindy, I will not – something is wrong and we need to find out what it is," Dr Bennett said with a warm smile.

"Maybe I'm losing my touch. Maybe this is the end of Hit Girl..."

"You can cut that crap out, right now!" Dave growled at me and I flinched at his tone.

_I flinched!_

Something was so very wrong...

..._...

After enduring a full head to toe medical – which left me feeling violated – Dr Bennett said that there was nothing physically wrong with me.

"So I'm fucking crazy?" I retorted angrily as I pulled my clothes back on.

"You're a fourteen-year-old girl who kills people..."

"So, I'm not your average girl!"

"Most definitely not!" Dr Bennett said with a laugh. "Why don't you and Dave go do something fun..."

"Okay..."

"And by 'fun', I mean fun – not messing about with weapons, killing people – something totally different..."

"Messing about with weapons _is_ fun!"

"Mindy..."

"I know; I know – fine..."

..._...

"Dave – I don't know how to have fun..."

"Bullshit – you told me that you enjoyed bowling and a while ago, you and Chloe pulled that naked stunt!"

I laughed at the memory.

"Okay – let's go bowling, just you and me."

"Am I going to regret this?"

"I'm not saying anything..."

* * *

That afternoon, Dave and I went bowling.

The lanes were hi-tech and we had one to ourselves at the far end. We changed our shoes and set up our game. It had been a few months since I had last played. Dave refused to say how good he was at bowling. I soon found out why...

"St – rike!" Dave yelled and I was very thankful that the general noise around us covered my derogatory and extremely foul response.

Yeah, I was a bit competitive – so what. The next two frames fell to _me_ – no strikes, but at least I won the frames. I enjoyed rubbing that into Dave's face and on the fourth frame, he responded by...

"St – rike!"

He was going to pay!

* * *

I had a distinct feeling that Mindy was getting annoyed.

Why?

She was glaring at me and flinging the balls very hard at the pins – I could feel their pain as they were blasted out of the way. She still didn't get a strike, but she yelled loudly enough to attract attention from the other lanes when she manged to leave two pins standing – at either side of the lane!

The important thing, was that she was distracted from being Hit Girl, at least for a while, and her most recent difficulties. However, Hit Girl was still coming out in Mindy, with her somewhat unique competitive nature! I was prodding a sleeping cobra by putting down so many pins and Mindy was not far away from exploding.

I decided that it was in everybody's best interest if I let Mindy win – mind you, she really upped her game towards the final frames.

..._...

"I kicked your ass, Kick-Ass!" She whispered in my ear twenty minutes later.

"By _one_ damn point!" I retorted.

"A point is a point – now I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat: loser..."

"Why the fuck do I put up with your shit?"

"Because you love me."

"I suppose I do!" I replied, giving my purple friend a hug.

Mindy stopped and turned to hug me back – very hard.

"Thank you for everything, Dave – without you..."

"I know – let's go eat."

* * *

**_That evening_**

We stopped at a pizza place and attacked their all-you-can-eat buffet.

I was happier than I had been in days – I had my Dave and I had beaten the ass! I had a sneaking suspicion that he had let me win and if so, I loved him for it. The spate of anger at the bowling alley had given me an appetite and I was shovelling away the food as fast as I could fill my plate.

"You're beginning to look like you're pregnant," Dave quipped as he looked down at my stomach.

"Don't give a shit – I'm starving..."

"I figured..." Dave chuckled as he devoured his own enormous plate load.

..._...

After we had eaten, we decided to walk home.

It was dark, but neither of us were scared – we loved the dark and to be honest, I enjoyed being out without my costume – I felt free for a moment...

Two men stepped out of an alleyway, about a mile from the pizza place. I rolled my eyes and just stood there with my hands on my hips, like 'really'! I was itching for some action and I was so happy and feeling so satisfied that I barely heard their threats... I just flew at them.

They both fell as one as I kicked out and punched at the same time before coming back down onto the sidewalk. I strode over to the first cunt and grabbed a handful of hair.

"What the fuck are you doing? You need to rethink your life, cunt!"

"I need to rethink my life... Yeah!"

"Goodnight!"

I turned to find that Dave had not moved an inch – he was just standing there, grinning. I melted; I loved that grin, but a dark sidewalk was _not_ the right time and place...

"You didn't try to help me?"

"You didn't seem to need any help – besides I just ate and you know I _hate_ exercising straight after food..."

I laughed.

"Shit excuse, but I did enjoy that – they were pussies out on the damn savannah!"

* * *

There was a crowd awaiting our return!

Well, maybe three ain't a crowd as such...

"You look happier," Chloe said cheerfully.

"I am, thanks..."

"You hurt anybody, tonight?" Alexander asked.

I just smiled.

"Yeah – she kicked some assholes butt!" Natasha said as she gave me a hug.

"Two actually!" Dave commented.

I wriggled out of Natasha's grip and grabbed Dave's arm.

"Now, if you three will excuse me, we are going upstairs and Dave is going to fuck my brains out!"

Natasha blushed at that, but Alexander just laughed.

"Go plug her, Dave!" Chloe said encouragingly.

* * *

"She seems better..."

"Tell me about it!" Chloe replied to Alexander.

"How about..."

"Not happening..."

"Maybe just a finger..."

I laughed as Chloe raised her middle finger towards Alexander.

"Not what I meant!"

* * *

**_The following morning_**

Mindy was still sleeping soundly when I awoke.

She had been well and truly knackered by the time she fell asleep. The bowling had worn her out, as had the massive meal. However, she had kept herself going the previous night as long as she could and I think I made her very happy...

When I came out of the shower, Mindy was smiling at me from the bed.

"You look good..."

"I feel good – thanks to you... and Cathy..."

"You needed a night of fun."

"It was fun alright – my fucking snatch is sore!"

"Don't look at me – you wanted to keep going..."

* * *

**_The Kitchen_**

"So – did Alexander give you the finger?"

"No, Natasha – he did not!"

"Are you just trying to tease him?"

"Maybe..."

"Is that why we're eating breakfast – like this?"

"Just a bit of fun..."

"I've never done something like this before..."

"Just wait till you see his face!"

* * *

I was hungry – and annoyed.

Chloe was such a tease, but she wouldn't let me 'touch' a certain place except on special dates, such as February 31st! It would happen eventually...

"Holy fuck!" I exclaimed as I entered the kitchen.

The two girls were eating at the kitchen counter – nothing strange about that, you might say...

"Holy fuck!" It was Mindy, with Dave close behind.

..._...

"Why are you two eating breakfast – err, naked?" Mindy demanded with a smirk.

Chloe just shrugged and went violently pink.

"I have absolutely no idea why I went along with this..." Natasha moaned, blushing bright red.

"Looks good from where I'm standing – and believe me, I am standing up!"

"Me too..." Dave added.

"Hey, cunt – eyes off those two hussies..." Mindy cautioned.

Then Dave and I just stood there in shock as Mindy brazenly dumped her pyjamas on the floor and went to get some cereal – stark naked.

"Dave – eyes on me!" She warned dangerously, beckoning with her finger.

"With pleasure – Alexander, keep your eyes on your own bitches!"


	45. Fighting Form

**_Three days later_**  
**_Thursday night_**

Hit Girl was back!

My confidence, my deadly skill, everything – I cut through the cunts, relishing in the blood that flew from the injuries that I was inflicting let and right. I noticed Kick-Ass and the others standing back and allowing me free reign; they knew me _so_ well and I loved them for it!

I had to give Ralph D'Amico some of the credit – he had helped me get firmly back into the saddle, so to speak... It was _his_ cunts that I was chopping to pieces and I had never felt _so_ happy and so very, very aroused.

I was in heaven...

* * *

I felt good inside as I watched my girl cutting through D'Amico's cunts just as she had with those goons, almost two years before in Rasul's apartment.

It had been difficult seeing Mindy suffer, only instead of suffering, she was borderline out of control, but the only person being hurt was D'Amico and his organisation. As such, he would receive no sympathy from anybody, let alone me!

"Feel free to chip in any time, assholes!" Hit Girl yelled.

I laughed.

"I thought you could handle them all?" I yelled back as I ran forward with Swipe beside me.

Clarity and Haze joined in from the far side of the fight, hacking their way through to reach Hit Girl and provide support.

"I was never one to hog the lime light..." Hit Girl replied innocently.

* * *

**_Two hours later_**

**_Safehouse K_**

"That was _so_ awesome!" Chloe exclaimed as she yanked off her mask, ignoring the sweat pouring from her.

"I loved every fucking minute of it..." Alexander added, pulling off his own mask and smiling at Chloe.

"I think somebody else did, too..." Natasha added, waving her mask towards me and Mindy.

Mindy was smiling like she never had before and she was unzipping her jacket before pulling it off and dumping it where she stood.

"Dave, I need you," she panted making no attempt to hide her lust.

That girl had no shame!

"You gonna strip _completely_ naked?" Alexander asked with a hopeful smirk.

"You wanna watch me get fucked, too?" Mindy asked facetiously with her own evil grin.

"If you're offering... fucking ouch!"

"Dirty fuck!" Chloe exclaimed as she lowered her hand from striking her boyfriend. "You can watch _me_ get changed and maybe..."

"Let's go..."

"So, I'm left alone while everybody else gets off?" Natasha said to nobody in particular as everybody vanished.

* * *

I was left on my own while the two 'couples' went their own directions into their bedrooms.

I headed for the armoury and pulled off my combat suit, section by section and hung it up, ready for use. I was left standing in just my knickers and a thin t-shirt, which was usually all, except for a sports bra of course, I always wore under the combat suit. I checked my weapons were clear and stowed them in their correct places – I had not fired my pistol, so there was no need to clean it that night.

I went to take a shower, which seemed to go on for a while; I saw no need to rush and there was always plenty of hot water. I could hear dubious sounds coming (no pun intended) from the bedroom next door, in which Chloe and Alexander seemed to be doing more than just undressing! For obvious reasons, I was not really concerned about having sex – I was happy to take a break from all that!

..._...

I was just drying myself off when I heard an ear splitting scream emanate from Chloe's room; it went on for quite a few seconds before it eventually died away. I actually sat down and started to laugh – it sounded very much as if Chloe had just lost the proverbial cherry! Several minutes later, I heard Mindy scream – we were all well used to Mindy screaming out in ecstasy... Well, there were no more virgins in our little band, not any longer!

I was pleased that both Chloe and Mindy had been able to give their virginity to somebody that they both cared about and who obviously cared for them. Me? My virginity had been forcibly taken from me by a pimp who then allowed other men to enjoy what I had to offer. I could not remember that first time – my first sexual encounter. My mind had blanked it out and I was glad of that. I just wished that I had somebody I could love and cherish...

..._...

My thoughts were interrupted as Chloe appeared in the changing rooms, with an enormous grin on her very pink face. She seemed extremely embarrassed and she was wrapped in a towel that just barely covered the essential bits.

"I heard you screaming, earlier..." I commented innocently.

Chloe's face went from pink to a very deep red in an instant and she actually giggled. She seemed unable to speak, but she finally sat down and just kept smiling.

"You seemed to have enjoyed yourself..." I said, looking pointedly at the fluid that gently trickled down the inside of Chloe's thighs.

Chloe looked down between her legs and grimaced, using the towel to wipe herself.

"Sorry..." she said.

"How's the donor; he spent?" I asked with a smirk.

"It started with a kiss and then he helped me undress and then the next thing I knew we were both naked. I took his hands and planted one on my left breast and the other between my legs – why I have no idea! I've never been touched down there before, but it felt good..."

"It's obvious that you never used a condom..." I commented.

"Mom put me on the pill about eight-months ago," Chloe admitted sheepishly. "I said I was not having sex, but Mom said it was better to be safe than sorry as hormones tended to take over..."

"Your Mom is very shrewd, Chloe, lucky for you. Did you like it – I assume the scream was one of pleasure?"

"Oh _yes_, it felt good having him inside me and he seemed to enjoy it too! It felt all hot inside me as he exploded and I hated it when he pulled out."

"It's a strange feeling – despite my being raped, I began to get some enjoyment out of the sex that I was forced into. My body enjoyed it; I couldn't prevent the orgasms, nor my body reacting the way it did to the stimulation. I decided to just enjoy the feelings as it at least gave me a little happiness and I'd pretend it was somebody I wanted fucking me..."

Chloe seemed unhappy at my revelation.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be insensitive..." Chloe offered apologetically.

"Don't... I've not got over it, but I'm doing okay and I would never want my friends to miss out on something as enjoyable or beautiful as sex with somebody they care about. I just hope that I can find somebody I love to have real sex with – pretend that he was my first and go on from there..."

..._...

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Alexander, and surprisingly, Mindy, who examined the scene in front of her before speaking.

"You look well and truly fucked!" She commented matter-of-factly to a furiously blushing Chloe.

"Chloe was wonderful – she really was," Alexander said as he appeared to sit down next to his partner in crime.

"I heard the scream!" Mindy chuckled and then she turned serious. "Welcome to the club, both of you..."

"I second that," Dave commented as he appeared.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Friday_**

"Hi, Mom!"

Dr Cathy Bennett paused in the kitchen of Safehouse K. She looked from one face to the next, returning to her daughter who was blushing furiously.

"So, the deed is done, is it, Alexander?"

"Err, yes, ma'am."

"Lucky you took those pills, eh, Chloe!" Cathy grinned.

Chloe did not respond but just went even redder.

* * *

"You look better, Mindy."

"I am, Doc, thanks – although to be honest some of the credit should go to old Ralphy boy; he did provide some good training material for me!"

Everybody laughed, even Dr Bennett.

"You are a very special girl, Mindy – you look after her Dave."

"She's all I have, Cathy, so yeah, I'll look after her every day of her life..."

"Pussy!" I growled which just generated more laughter.

"Now, Chloe – you need to get yourself to school..."

"Awe, Mom – can't you tell 'em I broke something?"

"What like? Your cherry?" Dr Bennett replied innocently and laughed as her daughter blushed badly.

* * *

**_The following week  
Friday night_**

I stared down at what had once been a snout.

Billy was dead – all of his fingers had been broken as evidenced by the vicious swelling on his hands. His was the third snout we had found dead – of the rest, all but two refused to speak to any of us.

"Fucking D'Amico!" I growled as I kicked the dead body.

"He's trying to make us blind, so he can operate with impunity," Swipe commented.

"Big words, my friend," I replied earnestly. "But you are bang on... This is bad for everyone; us and the city."

"We need to up our game, then," Clarity chimed in.

"We can't work without intelligence – you told me that months ago," Haze added.

"You actually listen to me?" I growled in surprise.

"Sometimes..." Haze replied with a smirk. "Your talking helps me to sleep!"

I was about to retort when I realised that she was just baiting me, so I ignored her and turned to Kick-Ass.

"What do you say?"

"He kills our people, so we take the fight to him and we make his life hell..."

"And people ask _why_ I love you so damn much!" I grinned. "Let's go see Marcus..."

* * *

**_The home of Marcus Williams_**

"Hi!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I thought you'd be pleased to see me!" I growled pretending to be hurt by his comment.

"I am Mindy, truly – but..."

"That fucker is killing all my snouts – I want to hurt him, badly... I think you and I need to arrange a joint op to take down your corrupt pal."

"He is _not_ my pal!"

"I know we cannot just kill him, but taking him out of the loop and dumping his corrupt ass in Riker's should hurt Ralph D'Amico."

"I'll see what I can do... Stay safe, Mindy – you too, Dave."


	46. Love Is In The Air

**_The following week  
Tuesday_**

**_The Bennett House, Long Island_**

He was back for the holidays!

He had found out about his cousin two months earlier, but we had not seen him in a few weeks, which was good. I did not like the kid – just a feeling, really. Chloe had already started to be nasty to her younger cousin and she often took things too far when teasing him. The fact that Chloe was a stone cold killer had not escaped Curtis, and he was more than a little scared of his cousin.

I was annoyed to find out that Natasha actually _liked_ Curtis! Obviously, _he_ liked her – she had tits and Curtis liked anything with tits – what thirteen-year-old boy wouldn't! He knew not to come anywhere near _me_, or I'd snap his scrawny little neck...

* * *

**_That night_**

We found another dead snout.

Marcus also informed us that NYPD Confidential Informants were being taken out too... D'Amico had to be stopped and soon before he had too good a grasp on the city. Marcus had also warned me not to start a war on the streets – I did not know how to respond to that. It was very possible that we could end up with a war on the streets of New York whether we liked it or not...

Though I enjoyed a good fight, I did not want a war; I knew that would be bad, but I knew that I would stand up for the people of New York and protect them whatever happened. D'Amico was unpredictable and ruthless, that was the thing we really knew about him.

..._...

Haze looked over at me and I could tell that she was worried. I looked at the others – they were all worried.

"You'll get us through this, Hit Girl – you always do," Haze commented.

"A storm is coming, Haze and I don't know if I have what it takes – I am one girl and you are all fucking pussies!"

"Hit Girl's getting a bit big for her boots, guys..." Clarity chuckled. "We are with you, Hit Girl – to the bitter end."

"Only you have the skills, Hit Girl," Kick-Ass said, speaking for the first time. "You've taught us a lot and I think we can save this city."

"Yeah – like he said," Swipe added.

"This will be hard and people will get hurt," I warned my eager friends. "You saw what happened to me – Kick-Ass got fucked up and so did Swipe, but then he was always fucked up."

Clarity laughed. I took a final look at the dead body and I felt the warmth of my comrades around me. A storm _was_ coming, but we would weather it and we would destroy the cause of that storm.

D'Amico would rue the day that he was ever fucking born – I would see to that...

* * *

**_Two days later  
Thursday  
Christmas Eve_**

**_The House_**

We had a visitor, that morning.

It was _not_ a fun visit, either! Alexander suffered the most, but I got grilled too and so did Dave. Chloe's Dad was home for the holidays and Dr Bennett had wanted to introduce her husband to us all. I had no idea how much he knew about us – turned out he knew quite a lot!

..._...

I was nervous as I pulled open the armoured door. Dr Bennett was smiling, but I was nervous about meeting Commander Ryan Bennett, United States Navy. Why should I have been nervous about meeting Chloe's Dad? I had no idea!

"Mindy Macready, please meet my husband, Ryan – Ryan, this is Mindy Macready..."

The man was tall – near two metres in height. He was imposing too, probably even more when he was in uniform. He seemed to force a smile as he shook my hand.

"You must be the homicidal maniac who got my teenage daughter wrapped up in this shit – Hit Girl, is it?"

"Yeah..." I replied.

"Daddy, you promised to be nice!" Chloe growled.

"Okay, pumpkin, please introduce your other err, friends..."

Chloe glared at her father before introducing everybody else...

"Daddy – this is Dave, Natasha and... Alexander."

"Good morning, Commander," Alexander said politely, offering his hand.

Commander Bennett kept hold of Alexander's hand and I could see Alexander's expression change.

"I understand that you and my daughter have been _involved_... _Intimately_… She gets pregnant, young man, and..."

"Ryan!" Dr Bennett said firmly.

"Just letting young Casanova here that I will be watching him... He deflowered our little girl..."

Chloe was blushing with embarrassment, but she kept quiet and crossed her legs.

"Ryan – these people are friends..." His wife persisted.

Commander Bennett finally let go of Alexander's hand.

"You live for now, Alexander..." He growled with a glare over at his blushing daughter.

..._...

He then turned to me.

"Okay – I was being unfair, but I wanted to see what you all were. Cathy has told me about what you have done in this city and I have to respect your actions. As I understand it, without your training, my daughter might be dead – the same with Curtis and Natasha. Cathy told me what Natasha went through and what Chloe did when she rescued her friend.

"Thank you, Mindy and you Dave. I still think you're a bunch of goddamn psychos, but I suppose I can see some good in what you do. Anyway, my wayward daughter has never listened to a word I've said, so at least she's learning from the best – you _are_ the best?"

Commander Bennett grinned.

"Yes, I _am_ the best, Commander. I don't believe in bragging; I have no need to do that as my actions speak for themselves. I value your daughter's talents and she is ruthless, believe me," I replied, blushing a little at the complement.

"As if her ego wasn't big enough!" Dave quipped.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Friday  
Christmas Day_**

**_The Bennett House_**

There was a small party underway for everybody.

Alexander was still shell-shocked from the day before and he was keeping Chloe at arms-length – even further if Commander Bennett was in the room! However, Commander Bennett had a nasty sense of humour, but he also had a sense of fair play.

"For God's sake, Alexander – kiss the miserable girl!"

Chloe had been sulking and generally being miserable as a result of not being able to show her true feelings for her boyfriend. She instantly brightened up and ran over to Alexander who tentatively kissed her on the lips...

"That's enough!" Commander Bennett said with a smirk and Alexander jumped backwards.

Chloe scowled at her father and then gave her boyfriend another, much deeper, kiss.

"Ryan – stop teasing them both!" Dr Bennett laughed.

* * *

Something was off.

I could see Mom – she was in the kitchen. Curtis was eyeing up Natasha, as usual, and Dave was chatting with Alexander – where the fuck was Mindy? For that matter, where was Dad? I searched the first floor of the house and could not find them. They couldn't have been outside – it was goddamn freezing out there!

However, as I walked out the back – there they were. Mindy was laughing her head off and Dad was talking in a very animated fashion – something told me to be worried.

"What's going on?" I demanded.

"Oh, hi... 'sugar muffin'!" Mindy said before laughing raucously.

I froze. When I was seven, I used to insist that Daddy called me 'sugar muffin' – I still have no idea why; hey, I was seven!

"Dad – a few hours ago you hated the very sight of Mindy and what she represented..."

"We seem to have something in common – you, pumpkin..."

I had a moment of dread...

"What have you told her, _Dad_?"

"Just a few little anecdotes from a few years back..."

"Like what...? Hang on; I don't wanna know. But remember this, Daddy – I can kill a man, and I have done so... on more than one occasion..."

Both Mindy and my Dad just burst out laughing at my decidedly lukewarm threat.

* * *

Mom smirked when she saw me enter the kitchen.

"Who threw up in your Cheerio's?"

"Dad and Mindy are exchanging stories about me..."

"I thought you'd be pleased that Mindy was getting along with your Dad..."

"He's embarrassing me..."

"Well – I think he's probably getting back at you for allowing Alexander to violate his little girl..."

"Alexander _did not_ violate me; I let him inside me willingly..."

"You're just very young, Chloe – you're only just thirteen and well, you're very young to be embarking on a six life..."

"I'm also a little young to be killing people – so what?"

"You're our only daughter; so we worry about you – you've always been headstrong and that means we're scared that you might do something stupid..."

I saw red and exploded.

"Like become a vigilante, or maybe 'cause you think I'm gonna let a boy stick his dick between my legs and then I'll get pregnant?" I almost shouted before I raised my voice further. "I took protection Mom – he used a fucking condom!"

"I never doubted you, but we love you and we want the best for you – maybe you and me should talk about some more regular protection..."

I cooled down slightly at that.

"Sorry – I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, Mom."

"It's okay, honey – you obviously have strong feelings for your friends. I respect that a lot and it makes me real proud of you – your father too; he's really proud of what you are doing; he may not like it, but he knows that if he can't persuade you to drop it, he'll at least support you in it."

"Thanks, Mom – it's hard being a teenager, but it's good to know that I have a lot of people who love me and care about me."

I gave my Mom a big hug before we were interrupted.

"Ah, sorry..." Dave said.

"Me and Mom were having a little chat," I explained.

"Yeah – we all heard it!" Dave chuckled.

* * *

**_That evening_**

Christmas dinner had been awesome and full of fun.

Dad came out with some very embarrassing jokes, which only resulted in Alexander trying to tell a dirtier joke than Dad – in the end it took Mom to stop them both as we were all about to piss ourselves in a very major way.

Dave had Mindy and I blushing madly as he recounted the 'let's sit on the boy's laps naked' episode, not to mention the naked breakfast of the other week!

"I feel so sorry for you boys," Dad had said seriously. "Living with a trio of brazen hussies!"

I had kissed Alexander full on the lips and enjoyed every second of it and by the bulge in his pants, he was enjoying it too...

"Oh, I can do so much better..." Dad had suggested as he pulled Mom into a very long and somewhat energetic kiss that had everybody watching in amazement.

It was embarrassing, but when they finally pulled up for air, Mom was red in the face and there was an expression of lust on Dad's face – ewww!

Still, it was the best Christmas that I had experienced for a long, long time.

* * *

It finally happened!

And me, Mindy Macready, had the dubious honour of catching them at it... I actually felt sick at the thought of what I had witnessed: Natasha was making out with Curtis...

Poor Natasha!


	47. A New Year To Kill

**_New Year's Eve, 2015_**

It was about to dawn.

Another year was gone and 2016 was right around the corner. My sixth sense – or rather my purple sense, as Dave called it – told me that something was going to explode on New Year's Eve and not just the fireworks, neither...

That night, I was out with Haze and Clarity. The three of us were on patrol with a single target in mind. The three of us were not alone, not that Hit Girl needed much assistance... Kick-Ass was a block over with Swipe and they were to be our backup.

We were in Times Square – well, just off to the side, in the shadows – and we awaited the expected trouble as the clock ticked ever closer to midnight. It was just before eleven when _he_ appeared.

..._...

"Holy, fuck!" Haze growled. "It's Mr Bondage!"

"That would be, _The Motherfucker_, bitch!"

I rolled my eyes as I studied the idiot and his entourage.

"Just the three of you, Hit Bitch?"

"Maybe..."

"Where's my pal?"

"Kick-Ass is _not_ your pal!" I growled back.

"Well, he's gonna miss seeing his little bitch getting fucked," Chris D'Amico went on.

I scowled as I saw that fucking massive bitch in her red costume complete with the hammer and sickle. She sneered in my direction and I had a distinct feeling that she was very keen to make up for the last time.

As Chris and his goons had appeared, the crowds had moved away in fear. Strangely, there were not may cops about – in fact, I saw none! It was up to us to protect the citizens of New York – just the five of us...

"Hey!" came a familiar bellow. "Chris D'Amico!"

I saw Chris scowl at the use of his real name. He turned to face Kick-Ass and Swipe. His face showed great annoyance.

"How many times . . . I am _not_ Chris D'Amico! I am _The Motherfucker_!"

Chris seemed mildly annoyed.

"Never – you'll always be Chris, I fuck myself, D'Amico – at least as far as _I_ am concerned."

* * *

**_Kick-Ass_**

Chris was _not_ what you'd call, a happy bunny!

I glared back at him as he glared at me. I would never back down as long as he was alive. I owed him and I owed him big. I reached up and drew my Ko-Wakizashi swords. On the other side of Chris' cunts, I saw Hit Girl unsheathe her own Wakizashi blades. Beside me, Swipe drew his Ninja-To and moved a few feet away from me to give us both room to move.

Hit Girl, Haze, and Clarity were more than ready to fight.

* * *

**_Hit Girl_**

Everything just seemed to explode into action.

Against the five of us, there were more than a dozen cunts, plus cockface. Maybe I started it – I was not sure, but Chris seemed to take offence at me shooting one of his cunts who had raised a pistol towards Swipe.

"Game on, motherfuckers!" I yelled as I pulled the trigger twice.

While I would normally see three to one against as pretty reasonable odds, we were also handicapped by needing to defend the petrified civilians who seemed to run about like scared chickens. The cunts seemed to take great delight in attacking anybody that they could reach.

Unfortunately, we were only five – therefore, we could only be in so many places...

* * *

**Safehouse K**

"Christ – it's a cockfuck out there!"

Erika turned to Marty with a grin.

"What, exactly, _is_ a 'cockfuck'?"

"Dunno – but I think it must be something like what we are witnessing in Times Square," Marty replied.

"You hacked into all these cameras?"

"Yeah – what of it?" Marty replied nonchalantly.

"Isn't that illegal?" Erika persisted.

"So..."

"Mindy is having a bad effect on you, Marty!"

"You mean that I've lost a few pounds and gained some awesome muscle?"

"Not quite what I meant..."

* * *

**_Times Square_**

Not surprisingly the place was heaving with thousands of people whose lives were now being threatened by over a dozen costumed individuals who were intent on causing mayhem. Many looked around for the expected uniformed NYPD running to help. All they saw were other costumed individuals who seemed to be intent on fighting the other costumed individuals.

All around there were screams as people ran for their lives. Some stayed to fight, but not many had come equipped for a melee fight on New Year's Eve! Some threw some good punches and felled a cunt or two, but the cunts returned the favour with bats and knives. There were already several bodies on the ground – some were no longer moving and lay in pools of blood. The situation was not helped by the indiscriminate use of flashbangs which were being used at close range and would temporarily blind and deafen people when they detonated.

It was a one-sided free-for-all.

* * *

**_Hit Girl_**

Annoyingly, the fucker that we most wanted was keeping a cunt or two between us and him.

We seemed to be mowing down cunts and we managed to save lives as we went. We used as much force as was necessary – which for most of the cunts meant death as none of us were fucking about that night. I drove a blade into the stomach of one fat fuck in a gaudy red costume. As he slid off my blade, I looked for my next target.

A few yards away, Swipe had removed the upper arm of one cunt who was left dumping the contents of his arteries into a nearby drain. Swipe grinned as he ran to assist Haze and Clarity who were trying to go after Chris – he was just visible in the crowd. I could not see Kick-Ass art first, but then he appeared as two cunts fell onto the blacktop before me – one with his face all bloody. I made the other cunt's face match his partner in crime with my boot and I was joined by my partner in many things.

"I think that might be all..." Kick-Ass began, just as gunfire was heard from several yards away.

..._...

There was a roar of noise and then a fucking horde – yes, a fucking horde – of cunts spilled out of a side street and hurtled in our direction. While Kick-Ass and Swipe urged the remaining citizens to run, I stood firm with Haze to my left and Clarity to my right. I could see the fear in their eyes at what was coming our way.

The surge was being led by the enormous Russian woman – she had somehow vanished earlier on. Not sure how she could just cocking vanish, she was motherfucking _huge_! I heard running feet from behind me and I briefly turned in surprise to see eleven men running towards us. I was even more surprised by who was leading the charge.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

**_Kick-Ass_**

Hit Girl's mouth hung open in surprise at who was running towards her.

I ran forwards and gently raised her lower jaw with a finger.

"Not a very threatening expression," I chuckled as the first of the men came to a halt beside us.

"Marcus!" Hit Girl growled under her breath before she raised her voice. "You're fucking late!"

Marcus grinned from beneath the ESU helmet that he wore and waved the fully armed Emergency Service Unit cops to fan out on either side of us. We were now sixteen. Clarity looked up at the enormous ESU officer beside her who was armed with an AR-15 assault rifle among other weapons mounted on his body armour. He smiled down at Clarity.

"You ready, young miss?" he asked.

"Are you?" the thirteen-year-old vigilante replied as she readied her bō-staff for action.

The man just shook his head and stared ahead at the approaching horde.

* * *

**_Haze_**

The sights, the smells, and the sounds were all there.

It was a battle. The horde consisted of fucking animals. I could think of no other way to describe them. They were not human beings. They had changed into blood-thirsty animals. They cared less about their fellow man. They only wanted to maim at best and kill at worst. Everybody and anybody was fair game. The grins grew as they saw the NYPD and quite a few laughed as they saw that they were faced by a few 'kids' in body armour.

There was no sign of Chris D'Amico, Red Mist, The Motherfucker, or whatever the idiot called himself. I formed up with Clarity and Swipe. We would protect each other's backs as we fought. Kick-Ass and Hit Girl would able to look after themselves.

It did not take long before we were surrounded by the aforementioned animals and we were fighting for our lives.

* * *

**_Swipe_**

There was, I had to admit, an interesting selection of melee weapons in use.

I saw maces, baseball bats with nails in them, various and sundry blades, oh, and a bloody great big sledge hammer! I was enjoying myself, and it felt good to feel Clarity and Haze on each side of me – it always did... Focus idiot!

I stumbled over a fallen . . . body? Clarity grabbed my arm and prevented me from going down. If any of us went down, under the mass of feet, we would probably die.

* * *

**_Clarity_**

I was so far outside of my comfort zone; I might as well have been on Jupiter.

If I had not had Swipe and Haze with me, I might not have been able to stick with the fight. I was no coward, no way . . . but . . . I was more used to fighting one or two cunts, or minor criminals. Now, I was fighting for my lie against dozens of the fuckers. I had no choice. I had to support my friends. I had to protect New York or . . . or die trying?

Did I really mean that? That was some shit that Hit Girl might come out with. Things were just getting a little too real for yours truly. Could I let everybody down? If I survived the night, I would have to seriously look at my fucked up life.

Out of nowhere the cunt before me just seemed to stop dead as his head exploded in a cloud of blood, bone, and brain matter. Then another head went the same way . . . and another.

"Am I fashionably late?" a voice asked over the comms.

* * *

**_Hit Girl_**

"Leon – good to see you back in action... Thanks," I called back as I removed the left lower leg from an unfortunate cunt in black leather.

I had not noticed at first, but one of the ESU team was a woman. She fought really well and there were three cunts in her immediate vicinity who would no longer be hurting anybody. However, the tables had been turned as she had attracted the attentions of the two-legged Russian battle-tank. The ESU officer was way out of her depth as she used her AR-15 as a melee weapon without much outward success.

"Get away from her, you bitch!" I yelled and the mountain turned towards me.

"Ah . . . the little girl returns for another lesson."

* * *

**_Kick-Ass_**

Hit Girl was angry.

She seemed to have a bug up her ass where that Russian bitch was concerned. I had shot her, at least twice, the last time. That was when Swipe had received Hit Girl's bō-staff in his leg after Hit Girl had stabbed the woman.

"Leon," Hit Girl growled. "Don't you touch that bitch; she is mine!"

"Copy that!" Leon replied as she continued to rain death down onto random cunts in the crowd.

To most, the fight looked very uneven. I knew Hit Girl. I knew what she could do. Every ounce of anger was unleashed by my pint-sized partner. She moved like Yoda did as he attacked Palpatine – maybe she was a secret manipulator of the force. Whatever, she moved faster than the super-size Russian. Every time the woman made to strike at Hit Girl, Hit Girl flipped out of reach.

The woman was angry but she seemed impressed by Hit Girl's antics. It was obvious to all that 'Mother Russia', as another cunt called her, could snap Hit Girl in half, should she get her enormous hands on the much smaller Hit Girl. I did what I could to guard my girl's back. I wanted her to concentrate on killing that monstrosity before her and not have to worry about anything else around her.

* * *

**_Marcus_**

My God, she could move!

It was the first time that I had seen my Mindy in action. She was awesome. I had to thank Damon for training her so well. I also had to curse Damon for outing Mindy in a position where she needed such training in the first place. I was both proud and in awe of her capabilities. I knew that she could wipe the floor with ESU without them even knowing what had hit them.

I remembered the warehouse when Damon had died. Seeing the girl take down every one of Frank D'Amico's muscle – alone. She was no longer alone and I knew that she never would be. Kick-Ass was mere feet from her, guarding her back as she twisted and spun around the giant Russian. The rest of the fucking nutcases around her were just as loyal it seemed. Mindy also appeared to have a sniper in her . . . in her what? I laughed at the thought that had just formed in my mind.

In her fucked up Superhero club! That was it. I remembered that day, well over a year ago. I had broken into that Safehouse – in hindsight, it was a damned foolish thing to do. Mindy could have snapped my neck without breaking a sweat. Not that I had known that at the time. I had just wanted to see Mindy, for the first time in almost six years.

I had almost lost track of what was going on as some wild-eyed idiot ran at me. I shot him in the head with me Beretta.

* * *

**_Kick-Ass_**

I sensed the endgame approaching.

Not a minute too soon – Hit Girl was exhausted; I could tell. I was hurting all over despite my superhero nerve endings. The girls were flagging too and despite his bravado, Swipe would not last much longer. Hit Girl had gone truly feral as she stabbed and slashed at the red mountain. The woman was dripping sweat and blood as she fought back.

The bō-staff came downwards faster than I had ever seen it move before. There was a flash of blood followed by a giant bellow as the massive woman stared at what remained of her left hand. It appeared that the metacarpal bones that made up the palm had been chopped in half.

"If I have to take you piece by piece..." Hit Girl growled as she swung around and lopped off the woman's right lower arm, just below the elbow.

There was another yell, but from across the Square. I recognised it for what it was and I drew my Glock. I emptied the entire magazine in the direction of that red bastard. I had no idea if any of my bullets struck my intended target, but I never got a chance to check as several cunts dived towards me.

By the time I had absorbed several punches and strikes from God only knew what, and then managed to put down two of the fuckers, I was very pleased to see Marcus' face as he punched out the lights of another cunt. The remaining yellow bastards ran off into the crowd. I was just about to thank Marcus when I saw Hit Girl finishing off the red bitch.

Blood was everywhere and I saw Hit Girl grin as she stared into the eyes of the giant woman.

"This _is_ going to hurt. I am _very_ sorry about that."

Amongst the streams of Russian that flooded out of the bitch's mouth, there were certain English language phrases.

"You have improved little girl . . . you are truly a worthy adversary . . . I die..."

"Too damn right you die. I promised you a fucking. Now, you are going to get it! You fucking..."

With that, Hit Girl drove the blade of one sword deep up the woman's...

"...cunt!" Hit Girl growled.

* * *

With the death of their superweapon, some of the cunts began to leave Times Square.

There was no further sign of Chris – I had a feeling that the yellow bastard had fled which was no surprise. Despite the death of Mother Russia, there was still work to be done. Somehow, the death of such a massive cunt had revitalised us all and we fought with a renewed vigour alongside our strange partners, the NYPD's ESU.

..._...

Hit girl struck out at a large man with a tight-fitting mask over his head. He had muscles – lots and lots of muscles. Hit Girl's fist struck his nose and a cloud of blood exploded into the air. The man actually growled out loud and Hit Girl wisely fled. The man chased after her and I could swear that Hit Girl was giggling! Yeah, the giggling sounded insane but it was still giggling. My girl knew how to have fun...

Hit Girl ran directly at a large building. She never looked back but watched her pursuer in the reflection of a large plate glass window. At the last moment, she dove to the left and jumped for a pillar beside the window. Her feet struck the pillar three feet in the air and she then launched herself backwards into a perfectly executed backflip. As she passed over the giant cunt, she drove her Wakizashi into his neck and down his body.

She landed on the blacktop and rolled to her feet. The cunt seemed to sag as the sword entered his body and he cannoned into the plate glass window which shattered all around him. He demolished the display of kitchen implements as he came to rest. Hit Girl ran over and jumped into the display where, after a short battle, removed her sword from the cunts body.

"Fucking bastard got blood on my sword!" Hit Girl swore as she seized a large kitchen knife from the display and drove it into the back of the cunts head. "That'll fucking teach yer!"

* * *

It was ten minutes to midnight when the fighting ceased and we all visibly sagged as we strove to regain some semblance of life.

We were all totally exhausted. Clarity dropped down onto a discarded pile of newspapers and she breathed out a very audible sigh of relief. The large ESU officer who had talked to her before the fight began came over and he sat down on the curb beside the young vigilante.

"You mind?" he asked courteously.

"Nah."

"Here..."

The man passed up a sealed bottle of cold water which Clarity ripped open and began to down as the man did the same with another bottle. Other ESU officers began to pass out similar bottles to each of us. It kind of broke the ice.

"Thanks, guys," I offered.

"No, Kick-Ass. Thank _you_," the man beside Clarity replied. "Lieutenant Hal Edwards, NYPD ESU."

"Glad to meet you, Lieutenant," Clarity grinned as she shook his hand. "I'm Clarity . . . this is Haze and Swipe. You obviously know Kick-Ass and..."

"Hit Girl," Marcus offered. "The arch-vigilante. Number three on our most-wanted."

"Only number _three_!" Hit Girl growled as she kicked an empty Coke can across the Square.

"We can't condone what you do," Lieutenant Edwards said. "But we don't have to arrest you, either. You saved a lot of lives, tonight – including that of Raven, over there."

He pointed at the female officer who pulled off her helmet to reveal her flowing black hair. She smiled at Hit Girl.

"Thanks, Hit Girl. I really mean that."

"While we are all getting pally here, may I ask a serious question," Hit Girl enquired as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"Go ahead," Marcus replied.

"Where the bloody-hell were all the fucking cops – down the goddamn doughnut shop!" She seethed and I saw a few angry glances from a couple of the ESU officers.

"They were all sent to a 'terrorist incident', down near Ground Zero – we don't know who or why, yet. But we _will_ find out!" Marcus responded angrily.

"So, why were you guys here?" Hit Girl persisted.

"We smelt a fucking rat," Lieutenant Edwards said. "Who in their right mind would leave Times Square undefended on New Year's bloody Eve? Sergeant Williams, here – he joined us and then we heard of an 'incident brewing'..."

"Thanks for coming," Hit Girl replied and she held out her hand to Marcus who shook her hand with a nod and a smile.

* * *

**_Hit Girl_**

While the ESU and the late arriving NYPD arrested the still breathing cunts, we all vanished into the darkness and found ourselves atop a six-storey building just as the clock ticked over.

"Happy New Year, Kick-Ass!" I growled as I jumped my man and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck. I planted my lips firmly on his and I listened as the immortal words of Auld Lang Syne echoed around the relatively empty Times Square.

There were still many New Yorkers about and they had watched the fight from afar. Now, they joined in with the words of Robert Burns:

_Should old acquaintance be forgot,  
and never brought to mind?  
Should old acquaintance be forgot,  
and old lang syne?_

It was the second New Year without my Daddy. But I was not alone. I had Dave. I had my friends. As I reluctantly pulled my lips away from those of Kick-Ass, I felt a surge of electricity like an electric shock. I longed to remain connected for all eternity, but I knew that that could only happen in the darkest depths of my sordid mind.

I began to join in with the chorus:

_For auld lang syne, my dear,  
for auld lang syne,  
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,  
for auld lang syne._

As the music began to fade, I looked around the Square below and I took a deep breath and smelt the air around us.

"I love the smell of blood in the morning..."

Kick-Ass laughed and so did Haze and Swipe as they both stared out over the city of New York. Clarity just stared down at the carnage below us and I wandered over to her. I placed an arm around her shoulder before I spoke.

"Talk to me."

"It's just beginning, isn't it? New York is coming apart, right?"

"Until every D'Amico is dead and preferably shredded into a million pieces, New York will always be threatened," I replied gently. "Until that day, we will guard this city. We will be the watchers. To paraphrase a certain TV show: Night gathers, and now our watch begins. It shall not end until our death. We are the sword in the darkness. We are the watchers on the walls of Justice. We are the shield that guards this city from those who wish to do it harm."

"We are the Knights of Justice who watch over this city," Swipe chipped in, much to everybody's surprise. "We are the Knights' Watch."


	48. The Downfall of Victor Gigante

**_New Year's Day, 2016_**

**_Safehouse K_**

We arrived back at the Safehouse near one in the morning.

Marty and Erika were there and they helped us all to remove our bloody weapons and armour. Everybody went for a well-earned hit shower and then we all gathered in the Rec Room for some Hot Chocolate. Chloe had rung home to ensure that her Mom knew that she was safe. I have to admit I lost track of what happened next as the first thing I knew after that moment was waking up to blazing sunlight and the smiling face of Erika.

"Hey, tiny tits – coffee?" she asked.

I looked down and I noticed that my towel had slipped during the night – I yanked it back into place. I scowled at Erika as I only had just enough energy to grasp hold of the hot mug.

"Thanks."

Erika nudged Chloe and Natasha awake. Alexander and Dave were already sipping their coffees. I gave Dave a dirty look for allowing Alexander to gawk at my tits – tiny or not! Alexander was soon distracted from his 'gawping', as he put it, when Marty appeared with bacon sandwiches for us all and we began to feel vaguely human again.

* * *

Around midday, Dave and me snuck out of the Safehouse and we headed out across the city.

We didn't knock, we just . . . well, we broke in – apparently, we were expected.

"Breaking into the home of a cop is not your best idea to date."

So much for a surprise!

"How...?" I began.

"I've been a cop for a lot longer than you've been playing with knives, young lady."

Dave laughed – asshole!

"Happy New Year, Marcus," I said and I gave the man an enormous hug.

"Err, Mindy – Marcus is going purple," Dave pointed out, so I eased off a bit.

"Happy New year, Mindy. You were brilliant last night. Amazing. A tribute to your nutcase of a Dad."

"Please, Marcus – her ego needs no help," Dave moaned as I blushed and Marcus continued.

"You lot are the talk of the NYPD down at HQ – some love you and some hate you. Everyone agrees that you stopped a massacre."

"I does what I cans," I muttered quietly as I felt distinctly embarrassed.

* * *

Marcus ignored the purple vigilante whose face was now very red.

He turned to me and smiled.

"Considering your first attempts at being a vigilante, you have come far, Dave."

It was my turn to feel acutely embarrassed.

"Mindy taught me most of what she knows. You need good skills to live with that girl, I can tell you."

Marcus laughed and again, he ignored the now fuming thirteen-year-old girl who stood beside us both.

"You two annoy me so much – yet I love you both to bits. Being young sucks!"

"Don't rush to grow up, Mindy," Marcus commented. "Enjoy your teenage years. You have some wonderful friends and they should be some challenging and sometimes dark times, but I know that you will all prevail."

Mindy smiled and she gave Marcus another hug which Marcus returned. It was obvious that the man really loved that girl and that he missed having her around.

"We need to go," I reminded Mindy.

"We have work to do and we've been invited to dinner with Chloe's Mom."

"Stay safe, both of you," Marcus said, then he paused for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot. I found out who gave the order to pull the NYPD from Times Square."

* * *

After a further brief chat with Marcus – and a final New Year's hug – we left and headed towards Chloe's apartment on West 15th Street.

Mindy seethed the entire way. It was all that I could do to stop her from marching down to One Police Plaza and committing a violent murder right then and there in front of, potentially, dozens of witnesses. To be brutally honest, it was no great surprise when Marcus had given us the name.

I was very pleased when we finally walked into the apartment on the tenth floor.

* * *

**_West 15th Street_**

Mindy never gave anybody a chance to even say hello.

"It was that fucking cunt, Gigante. _He_ managed to ensure that _no_ damn cops were anywhere near Times Square on New Year's Eve."

"Not a surprise," Alexander commented.

"It's fucking obvious who lines _his_ pockets," Mindy continued to rant. "That bastard just _has_ to go."

Chloe seized hold of Mindy – never a wise thing to do.

"You seem a little irked, Mindy – come and sit down," Chloe insisted.

Mindy allowed herself to be guided over to a couch where Cathy handed her a large glass of Coke.

"Err, thanks, Cathy."

"I'd offer you something stronger, but while you might be old enough to kill, you are most certainly not old enough to drink," Cathy laughed much to everybody's amusement – everybody except Mindy, that was.

* * *

I was angry – of course, I was.

However, I was not about to spoil our little get-together. We spent the next couple of hours laughing at some of Alexander's crude jokes and we watched some shit on TV. I was not able to concentrate on the fun as much as I wanted and I could see both Dave and Chloe looking at me with concerned expressions.

Over dinner – an enormous turkey with all the trimmings – the talk turned to the previous night and a certain cunt. No, not the giant red one, nor the chicken red one who fled. We did discuss those two and Cathy was very interested in my fight and methodology for dispatching Mother Russia. The talk had turned to that corrupt bastard who had caused the previous night to go so wrong.

We began to discuss ideas for taking down Gigante – _without_ killing him. I wanted him to suffer and I also wanted to ensure that he went down as a corrupt cop and not as a cop murdered by a vigilante.

Typically, it was Dave who finally came up with a credible idea – only it needed some assistance from yours truly...

* * *

"Absolutely fucking not!" Mindy growled.

"But you looked good..." I insisted.

Mindy blushed.

"I don't care, Dave; I am _not_ wearing that shit again..."

"It's not the _same_ shit – it'll be all new stuff; you've grown – plus you lost all that 'shit' at D'Amico's penthouse."

"I'll look a dick..."

"I thought you liked everything to do with dicks?" I chuckled.

"He does have a point," Natasha interjected.

"You keep outta this..." Mindy hissed.

* * *

**_That same night_**

Needless to say, they had won the fucking argument.

Therefore, I was out on the streets of New York dressed like a fucking Catholic schoolgirl – again! Never thought that I would _ever_ pull that trick again... It did not exactly help that both Alexander and Dave had almost _drooled_ over my long knee-socks _and_ the short (_very_ short in my mind) kilt... I _was_, in fact, wearing a mask – Dave had allowed that small concession to conceal my identity – it was only a small black domino mask but it was still a mask.

What really annoyed me was that I was the fucking decoy, the goddamn rat in the trap – not for the first time neither. I would be a sodding magnet for every damned paedophile and dirty old man for fucking miles. Mind you, not all that many Catholic schoolgirls packed a Glock _and_ knew how to use it too...

..._...

I could not believe that Chloe actually had the right clothing in her goddam closet! I had hoped that the lack of suitable clothing would have gotten me out of playing target. Never mind – once a mission was on the table I would never back down. Dave knew it too. How had I got into such a position where Dave could dictate my moves?

Because I had let him into my life. Because I had let him into my heart. Because I loved him with that same beating heart. I loved him with every fibre of my being.

"Err, Hit Girl – anytime now..."

Fuck! I had got myself distracted – sex could do that to a girl...

* * *

Detective Lieutenant Victor Gigante knew that something was amiss the moment he saw the girl but the girl's clothing had intrigued him.

He was no pervert but the uniform was wrong for that late at night, not to mention that all schools were closed for the holidays; maybe the girl was in trouble. The girl seemed to be keeping to the shadows and it was all but impossible to make out the girl's face.

She was thin, not all that tall but – what was the word? Coltish – yes, that was it... She was wearing a white shirt with a tie, a very short kilt and white socks that came up to just below her knees. On her feet were black sandals and her long blond hair was up in pig-tails. She moved steadily towards a dark alley; now why would she be doing that?

Then, the girl vanished into the dark maw of the alley; Gigante jogged forwards and he entered the same alley.

..._...

There was a noise from the darkness ahead, but there was no sign of the young girl. Gigante froze as a nasty thought and a none too distant memory came to him. A couple of years or so before, at Frank D'Amico's penthouse, just after the massive shootout and the massacre – in the elevator, amongst other things, they had found a kilt, a white shirt with a tie, black sandals...

Oh, shit!

The man's trained mind began to flash warning signs at his brain as one more piece of information finally finished off the picture: the doorman had still been alive when they had found him but he had died soon after and amongst the few tangled words uttered was the statement that their killer had had blonde hair...

On instinct, Gigante turned and he began to run towards the entrance to the alley.

* * *

Something must have spooked the cunt.

He ran like a man possessed and just a few feet before he would have exited the alleyway, I stepped out before him, a suppressed pistol raised in my hands. I stood my ground as the man tried in vain to back pedal at the sight of me. It was comical really – his face was an absolute picture as the light from a nearby light pole splashed across it.

The crooked cop fell to the ground and he reached for his gun.

* * *

The girl was there.

Right there, just a few feet from me . . . she wore a mask . . . it obscured part of her face.

The black pistol in her hands seemed enormous as I stared down the ominous-looking barrel. Her right arm was locked at the elbow while her left, elbow bent, provided extra support for the weapon. It was a professional stance and I knew that I faced the same girl who had taken down Frank D'Amico. The girl smirked at me and her eyes glinted in the light from a nearby streetlight. I saw evil. I saw death.

Instinctively I reached for my pistol . . . the girl shook her head from side to side. I took my hand away and I slowly raised both hands into the air.

"I'm a cop. You can't kill a cop."

"A cop?" The girl laughed. "No, I won't kill a cop . . . a dirty-cop, now that's something else..."

I heard a movement to my right and I was pushed to the ground where I felt a boot on my right arm as a hand reached in and removed my pistol, then the girl spoke again.

"Night, night..."

I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head and everything faded into nothing.

..._...

I could hear shouting and screaming. My head pounded like a jackhammer was operating inside it. Something wasn't right. Something was very wrong. I opened my eyes and found that I was on my knees, slouched against a wall. I looked down. What the fuck? My pants were around my ankles along with my shorts and . . . my cock was sticking out. Something dribbled out of the tip. Impossible!

Then I saw a girl. She was only feet away from me. She wore a school uniform, just like that other girl – only she was naked from the waist down. Her underwear and a kilt lay around her ankles and she was yelling.

"Rape! Help me! Please!"

I jerked fully awake as my brain rapidly put everything together. I was being set up! I had to get out of there...

"Hey, you, stop! Police!"

Oh, fuck!

There was a cop only a dozen yards away and he was running towards me. His partner was not far behind. The girl before me; she _smiled_ at me. She hauled up her underwear, grabbed the kilt, and she ran for it, down the dark alleyway behind me.

"You're a sick bastard, old man!" The first cop growled as I was flung onto my face.

"Stop – I'm a cop..."

"With a wet dick and a young girl running away..."

"I'm being framed..."

"Yeah, like they _never_ say that!" The other cop growled as he fastened the cuffs a little too tightly.

* * *

**_The following morning  
Saturday, January 2nd_**

**_One Police Plaza_**

The door to the jail cell slid open quite noisily and it startled the sleeping inmate awake.

"Well, well, well. How the mighty have fallen."

The man on the single concrete bunk sat up and he glared at the tall, black man that had spoken.

"Fuck you, Williams!"

"That would be 'fuck you, _Sergeant_ Williams'."

Victor Gigante stood up and he faced off against his tormentor.

"I am a Lieutenant in the NYPD, Sergeant, and don't you fucking forget it!"

"You wish!" Marcus grinned as he waved Gigante's NYPD Lieutenant's Medallion. "You will _never_ see this medallion again – the Captain has placed you on indefinite suspension, pending your indictment for the rape of a minor."

"Rape!" Gigante yelled back. "I raped no fucker!"

Marcus turned around to face a pair of uniformed cops.

"Take him for his identification parade."

Both cops handled the former Lieutenant quite roughly as they led him out of the cell and down a corridor.

* * *

**_Fifty minutes later_**

Natasha Winslow peered through the one-way glass at the line-up of eight men.

She looked up at her 'mother', Cathy, who gripped her hand reassuringly. Her 'mother' could not believe that she had actually agreed to go along with the charade, but she could see it was for a good reason.

"Please, take you time," the Detective Lieutenant who was overseeing the parade said to Natasha.

"The man had his pants down and well, there was something about him," Natasha said.

The Lieutenant smiled and he ordered the men lined up in the small room to drop their pants. Marcus grinned as Gigante followed the orders and dropped his pants.

"Not seeing everything..." Natasha hinted.

The Lieutenant ordered the men to drop their underwear. Gigante opened his mouth to argue but a cop in the room raised his baton and Gigante reluctantly followed the humiliating order. Marcus turned at some giggling as two uniformed officers laughed at Gigante as he stood there naked from the waist down.

"Ladies! A bit of decorum, please," the Lieutenant insisted.

Natasha peered through the glass for a moment before she turned to the Lieutenant.

"He was . . . you know . . . hard."

The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow but directed the men to...

"Fuck you!" Gigante roared.

"That's him – number 4!" Natasha exclaimed excitedly. "I recognise the voice – plus that mole in his groin."

The Lieutenant nodded and turned to Marcus.

"He's all yours, Sergeant."

The two officers in the room seized Gigante none too gently and they cuffed him. He was then dragged out of the room without even the chance to pull up his pants and underwear.

* * *

**_An hour later_**

**_Interrogation Room 3_**

Marcus studied the lawyer who sat beside the seething and thoroughly humiliated ex-Lieutenant Victor Gigante.

"Aren't you Ralph D'Amico's lawyer?"

"I do not discuss my clientele and you know that Sergeant," the lawyer replied stiffly. "Now, let's get this charade over and done with, shall we."

Marcus sat down, with a young female Detective beside him. They ran through the usual identification routine for the recording before they began with the real questions. Gigante looked bored with the entire event – at least until the first question was read out.

"Victor Gigante, on the night of January 1st, 2016, did you rape a thirteen-year-old girl?" Marcus began.

"Not a fuc . . . damn chance!" Gigante retorted.

"Did you follow a girl into an alleyway?"

"Ye..."

"My advice is not to answer that question," the lawyer said as he cut off his client.

"Did you expose yourself to said girl?" Marcus continued.

"No!"

"Did you show the girl your erect penis?"

"Never!"

"Did you proceed to insert your erect penis into the twelve-year-old girl's vagina?"

"No way – I never raped that girl!"

"So – there was a girl?" Marcus replied with a grin.

Gigante lapsed into an angry silence as the female Detective spoke for the first time.

"We have a gooey substance which we believe to be semen – it's being tested by the lab – if that is yours..."

"It's not . . . it can't be."

"Do you like little girls, Gigante? Do they turn you on?"

"Of course not!"

"The girl in question, she was barely into puberty. Is that the kind that you like? You like young virgins?" Detective Vivian Jenkins pushed.

"That's disgusting."

"Well, she ain't no virgin now – _you stole her virginity_!"

"Never..."

"Can we talk about a deal, Sergeant?" the lawyer interjected.

"I don't need a damn deal – I'm innocent," Gigante blustered.

"Rape in the second degree – seven years," Marcus offered. "I'd prefer twenty to life... We will ask the Judge to consider rape in the _first_ degree considering Gigante's position of trust in the community."

"For his protection, we have arranged suitable accommodation at Ricker's Island," Detective Jenkins added.

A very stunned Victor Gigante was ushered from the room.


	49. The Knights Watch

**_Saturday, January 2nd, 2016  
Later that day_**

**_The House_**

"What you said was not true, I hope?"

"No, Dr Bennett. He did _not_ rape me – I did get some of his stuff on me, though – yuck!" Natasha responded with an appalled expression.

"I hope the fucker has a good night!" Mindy offered with an evil grin.

"Yeah – shame he's gonna be in solitary," Alexander added. "Just pictured him getting shafted by a guy with a rock hard..."

"Thank you, Alexander!" Chloe cut in loudly.

"Couldn't have happened to a better guy," Dave finished and we all agreed.

* * *

**_Three days later  
Tuesday afternoon_**

**_Safehouse K_**

I never knew that Natasha was an artist – a damn good one, too.

When I pushed open the door into the Rec Room I stopped and my jaw dropped open in shock. I had no idea what had shocked me more. That somebody could produce something so outstandingly amazing and beautiful. Or that somebody would actually remember every word that I had said a few days previously.

Needless to say, it was all there:

_Night gathers, and now our watch begins.  
It shall not end until our death.  
We are the sword in the darkness.  
We are the watchers on the walls of Justice.  
We are the shield that guards this city from those who wish to do it harm.  
We are the Knights' Watch._

I was speechless.

"I hope you don't mind – I was bored and I thought that the place needed a bit of brightening up," Natasha said a little sheepishly.

"It's amazing . . . if I was a dyke, I'd fucking kiss you."

"You like it?"

"Do I want to shove a red-hot poker wrapped in barbed wire up Chris D'Amico's ass?"

Natasha looked a little freaked out at my comment.

"That would be a yes," Dave hinted as he stood behind me, in equal awe.

* * *

That afternoon we all sat beneath the mostly completed mural – it was enormous and was measured in feet!

Natasha was very embarrassed by all the supportive comments which were being thrown at her. She actually did receive a kiss from Chloe _and_ Alexander. It seemed that our little group of vengeful vigilantes had a name. Due to that fact, we decided that we would need a symbol to adorn our combat suits and motorcycles.

We had decided that it would have to be something simple and nothing garish. Among other symbols – many of which were totally unsuitable; even to my own standards – we had selected Lady Justice as a possible candidate. Naturally, a certain low life in our midst had decided to hijack the proceedings and produce some woefully inadequate, and almost pornographic, images.

"I think she's awesome," Alexander offered with a cheeky grin as he exposed us to his latest find from the sordid depths of the internet.

"It's disgusting and sexist," Natasha insisted.

"She has hardly any clothes on," Chloe pointed out as she scowled at her boyfriend.

"Exactly!" Alexander responded happily.

"You can see her breasts," I added.

"Yeah..." Alexander breathed his grin spreading ever broader.

"No," Dave said firmly.

"Maybe we could get Chloe to pose..." Alexander suggested with a disgusting grin.

"Naked?" Chloe growled.

"If you want..."

We moved on as Alexander concentrated on rubbing his freshly acquired bruises and Chloe returned to her seat.

* * *

We had settled on a design.

Lady Justice was clothed, much to Alexander's disgust. The shield was tall and curved up the two sides to a slightly curved top. The border was silver with the centre black. Lady Justice was a medium grey occupying most of the centre of the shield. Marty had come up with the full technical form for said shield which sounded cool, but had otherwise meant nothing to any of us!

The shield was heater-shaped. The chief had a slight outward curve and was trimmed in argent as were the sinister and dexter. The field was in sable with Lady Justice as the main charge in a medium grey and taking up most of the available space.

I loved it, no matter how it was described.

* * *

**_Riker's Island_**

Of the 10,000 or so inmates in the country's second largest jail, one was not at all pleased with his lot.

During his in processing, during which he had endured an extremely humiliating and invasive strip search, he had then been moved to the prison's newest facility, the ESH. Gigante was fully aware of the place – he was also very concerned as to why he was being sent there. The Enhanced Supervision Housing facility was intended to house the most violent of criminals. Mainly, the cells were intended for inmates who had already attacked prison staff or inmates. Gigante figured it was for his protection, but he was not overly sure about his diagnosis.

He was not overly sure about his safety, either.

..._...

The first night had been scary. He did not sleep. He would doze off but then jerk awake at the slightest yell, bang, or scrape. He had felt very vulnerable as he had walked past a dozen or so other inmates. Several of the inmates had recognised him for what he had been – an NYPD cop. He knew that it would not take very long for his 'crime' to come forth and he knew full well what happened to child rapists in jail.

During the first day, he had received a few 'fly-bys' by other inmates. He had tried to appear unintimidated, despite his being very intimidated. Like most bullies, of which Victor Gigante was one, he was also easily intimidated when backed up against a wall with no suitable comeback such as a cop badge.

It was on the third afternoon after his incarceration that he had his first run-in with the existing inmates.

..._...

Victor Gigante never noticed the subtle changes as he sat at the bench in the common area directly beneath his cell, #32. There had always been a minimum of three guards visibly on patrol at all times. However, at that moment, Gigante was alone with about eight other inmates. The four guards on duty had each vanished discretely, one by one, without attracting any undue attention.

The first Gigante knew of his impending doom, was when the main lights went out and they were instantly replaced by the eerie glow of the emergency lights. He sensed the danger before he saw or felt it. The punch in the kidney instantly told him what he was in for. He was dragged off the bench and thrown roughly onto the table top.

"You stinking fucking pig!"

"Heard you're in for fiddling with a little girl."

"I heard rape."

"You dirty fucking bastard!"

"I vote we shank the pig."

"Cut his dick off."

"I hate to admit it, but this cunt is protected. Ralph D'Amico likes him. We can rough the cunt up, but he needs to remain breathing and relatively intact."

Gigante felt a rag being stuffed into his mouth and then the first beating of many began.

* * *

**_Safehouse K_**

I accepted the call coming into my cell.

"Yo!"

"Yo to you too, Mindy," Marcus laughed.

"Hey, old man, how you doing?"

"Less of the old, little girl!"

"Let's meet halfway. I won't call you old if you don't call me little."

"Deal!" Marcus chuckled. "Got some news for you. A mutual acquaintance suffered significant injury during a power outage at Riker's. He fell down some stairs apparently."

"Poor soul. I hope he's going to be okay," Mindy replied in a mocking tone.

"Oh, he has some friends looking after his well-being," Marcus replied darkly.

* * *

Things were changing.

We had a purpose . . . and a cool name!

We also had a symbol. I considered it as a legitimisation of our activities in the city of New York. The events of New Year's Eve in Times Square had been unprecedented. I had never fought alongside anyone, but ourselves. To fight alongside those who were sworn to eradicate vigilantes like us was awesome. It had also been amazing to fight alongside Marcus.

What _would_ Daddy be thinking?

* * *

"You okay, Natasha?"

I looked up to see Mindy.

"Yeah, just thinking through some shit."

"No problem . . . I've got an appointment with Dave."

I grimaced and then laughed; I knew _exactly_ what the 'appointment' was for. Once Mindy was gone, I went back to my thoughts about the previous week. I had to admit, it had been a first for me.

Not the sex, unfortunately, but it was the first time that I had actually stuck a cock up my snatch voluntarily. I was only thirteen, but I was very experienced from a sexual point of view. When I was rescued by Chloe, I swore that I would never have sex with another man for a long, long, time – at least until I found love . . . or I made the choice.

..._...

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Hi, Mathilda."

"You helped put a cast-iron bastard behind bars. But I'm sorry about what you had to do to accomplish that."

"I was the only one who could do it. No way was I about to let Chloe do it."

"Of course not."

"Being a vigilante is not easy and I know that I will encounter more such challenges as I go. I was glad to be able to use something from my past to help my friends."

"Talking of friends . . . where is everybody?" Mathilda asked, keen to change the subject.

"Fucking..." Natasha replied with a grin.

* * *

Dave closed the door to the bedroom and he turned towards the bed.

Mindy was as naked as the day she was born. Her fourteen-year-old body was steadily becoming more womanly in appearance and much less boyish. Curves now accentuated her hips which were much more pronounced, as were her thighs. Mindy had no qualms about people seeing her naked – she was proud of her body and Dave had no issues whatsoever with seeing her naked.

"Dave, squeeze me."

"Huh?"

"Squeeze me. Squeeze me like l was an S&amp;W seven forty-seven . . . double-action magnum . . . with an extended chrome eight-inch barrel . . . just begging for a few squirts of gun oil."

"Is this a come-on?

"Blow on my tits . . . like you were blowing away the metallic blue discharge . . . wafting from your barrel . . . after you've spent your full load."

"Damn!" Dave exclaimed as he sat down on the bed. "You are one hot bitch tonight."

"Hot as a freshly detonated Willie Pete."

Dave ran his hand down Mindy's abs and then between her legs.

"Damn – you're burnin', girl!"

"Is that a baton in your pants, Kick-Ass, or are you just pleased to see me?"

Dave shucked off his pants and shorts.

"You decide..." Dave teased as he dumped his t-shirt and lay down beside Mindy.

Mindy moaned as she took in the fully erect 'baton' as it touched her thigh. She grinned as she ran her fingers across her thickening pubic hair and she touched the pleasure button at the top of her moist slit The single touch made her squeal as she turned towards Dave and ground herself against his dick.

"You bad, bad, girl!"

"Punish me, Dave. Punish me."

* * *

I had lost count of how many times we had had sex in the previous three weeks since we had both given our virginity to one another.

Chloe was . . . what was the word? Insatiable . . . that was it. Her body was lovely and her bare skin was silky smooth. For me, it was a novelty to be allowed down amongst the hair that hid her lower regions. Chloe did not have the biggest boobs in the place – that honour went to Natasha or maybe Erika – not that I had seen Erika's. Chloe's boobs were just right, I thought. She let me squeeze them and she would squeal as I touched her nipples which would harden and stick out with barely a touch.

Down below, she had a decent amount of dark pubic hair and I loved running my fingers through it. She did not seem to mind, neither. I was a novice when it came to the female body and I had needed Chloe to explain where things were. She had even allowed me to 'go inside' and she had pointed out her various items of plumbing to me. It was very different to the books and pictures used in sexual education at school. To be honest, the inside looked a little icky. I had said as much to Chloe and she had laughed.

"Think yourself lucky," she had said. "You've just seen way more than I have; I can't see down there without a fucking mirror!"

..._...

Chloe seemed to glow as she lay completely naked on the bed. As I had already mentioned, my knowledge of girls was very slim. I had spent most of my young life annoying the fuck out of the opposite sex – to be honest, I had had no idea what else to do with them! Since I had started puberty, a little before my thirteenth birthday, I was intent on seeing a naked girl in the flesh. Like many boys my age, I had spent many hours sifting through various second-hand dirty magazines with their stuck together pages and looking for dubious images on the internet.

I jacked off to a magazine at least one a day when I found that I could and I dreamt of seeing a real girl. Thanks to my general behaviour around girls, they tended to avoid me like the plague. Therefore, my chances of actually seeing a girl naked, let alone touching anything, was a total pipedream.

Then, out of nowhere I had stumbled upon the hidey-hole of the super-secret vigilante, Hit Girl. Thankfully, she had decided not to kill me, despite me having just seen her naked. She was my first naked girl – not that there had been very much to see... Then there had been another hot chick: Chloe. We had had an on and off love/hate relationship – although I don't think Chloe saw it as a relationship at all.

It was only after that night out when Chloe had allowed me to undress her and then the next thing I knew, she was naked and I was naked, then I was lying on top of her and my dick... Well, you get the picture. I was fourteen while Chloe was only thirteen, but it was consensual and we both loved it. I really could not believe my luck; I had found a home and the loveliest, most beautiful girl that I had ever seen.

"Well, dickhead, are you gonna fuck me or what?"


End file.
